hello pot.

I've always hated political ads. I hate the nastiness, the mudslinging, and the fact that they almost speak down to our intelligence. There are some ads right now thought that really bug me. I'll start first by saying that I don't like Chris Gregoire for multiple reasons, but her team must really think we are stupid. Currently there are three ads about how Dino Rossi is against stem cell research and would allow pharmacists to deny emergency contraception. The tag line is something to the effect of who is he to push his personal beliefs on the rest of us. Um, sorry but, isn't that what politics is all about? Making laws and policies based on personal beliefs? Don't ALL politicians do that? Don't we choose to vote for the candidate that hold beliefs most similar to our own? This doesn't just apply to stem cell research or emergency contraception, it applies to everything. Taxes, health care, welfare, education, guns, environment, oil and drilling, immigration, death penalty, war, the list could go on and on....... How is it any different if Gregoire imposes her personal beliefs on us than if Rossi does it? You are looking mighty black today kettle...........

If my heart could smile

The other day we had kind of a slow start to our morning, but it was one of the sweetest mornings I couldn't possibly be upset about what didn't get done. Genna is such a wonderful sister. She was playing with Nahshon by riding him around on this big truck that Isaac has. I took her picture because I wanted her to see just how much fun little Nahshy was having! They played together for almost an hour! While Genna and Nahsh were riding around, Isaac was playing with trains. He was playing by himself and saying "I wub you mom, I wub you" (wub=love in toddler speak) Every time I said I love you too, he would look up and give me a great big smile. Ahhhhh............

sick again

Poor Isaac is sick again. He just had a runny nose and a small cough, but as he was sitting with me tonight I realized we are headed for another round of nebulizer treatments. His breathing is very labored once again, poor baby. I know it's because we've started up new classes and are around new kids and new germs. He's just going to have to strengthen his immune system. I really hope this isn't going to be a hard winter for him.

First day of school

Our first day of school went very well. We didn't even start our lessons until after lunch because we had two more boxes of stuff delivered today. We had a very relaxed day, and the lessons were completed very quickly. We did math, handwriting, language arts, a search and find picture, read a story about Venice, discussed different jobs people do, and reviewed our school rules. In one of the boxes we got today, there were two boxes of musical instruments. When we were talking about our school rules, I discussed with them the importance of team work and helping each other out. Their first "homework assignment" was to create a song together with the new musical instruments while I got ready to go to a homeschool parent meeting tonight, and they were to perform it for me when I was ready. Genna sort of became the leader and gave out assignments, so it looks like we'll need some more lessons on team work, but it was a great start and they had fun! Even Isaac got in on it! We also got geo-boards today, and I can see it was a HUGE mistake to buy only 3 instead of 4! The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE these things! Who knew a handful of rubber bands and some plastic pegs on a board could provide hours of entertainment!!! We also got our first set of Lincoln Logs, which proved to be somewhat challenging for the kids, but they worked together to figure out how to build a house. (I only showed them how the logs fit together; I wanted them to work their brains to figure out how to stack up the different sized logs to make houses with windows, doors, a roof, etc.....) Genna made a fairly elaborate home, but Bella accidentally knocked it over. Oh well. At the end of the day both girls said they enjoyed math the most as far as seated workbook work goes, and Elijah liked coloring pictures. (we didn't color any pictures today.........?) Tonight before bed they all agreed that they couldn't wait to do school again tomorrow. Music to a homeschool mom's ears! All in all, a great start to our year.

keep your friends close and your enemies closer

I'm not sure when or why these two drifted into my room, but when I woke up I found them like this. These two are the definition of a love/hate relationship. They are so much alike that some moments you'd think they were the only two in the world and other moments they are ready to wage war. They really were sound asleep in both pictures, and yes, Isaac really does sleep with his hands behind his head.

kids are so funny

One of Bella's favorite movies is Samantha from American Girl. Even though we own the movie, and she watches it often, she is THRILLED TO BITS right now because it's on TV. Somehow having it come on TV with commercial interruptions makes it seem more special I guess.

Book review #1

Since we are going to be doing a LOT of story reading this year, I thought I would post my reviews on various books we are reading. Go Dog Go was a book I picked up for Isaac just for fun, and I am so glad I did! If you have a child that is 2-3 years old, this is such a fun book! I have to say that Isaac was reluctant to finish the book though because he just kept wanting me to read the pages that said Hello. Do you like my hat? I do not. For a good hour after we read the book he kept asking me to put silly things on my head so we could re-enact those two pages of the book, and every single time he would double over in laughter. Well worth the money spent to have a full hour of joy and laughter with my son.

our little patient

Bella seems to be doing Ok with her thumb. The pain comes and goes, and seems to be at it's worst when she wakes up. Her first words out of her mouth this morning were "thumb hurts". Poor girl. The medicine seems to keep her pretty comfortable for the most part during the day though. At first she was pretty jazzed about the idea of being able to lay around and not have to do anything, but now she's starting to get a bit stir crazy and is wanting to get back to normal play. Thankfully Isaac understands what "big owie" means and he has been very nice and gentle with her the past couple days. Last night Elijah spilled all over her hand, and I had to re-bandage it. It was not a pretty sight! It was still very very swollen, the the spot of the injury had a big lump and was purple and green. She cringed during the first couple wrap arounds, but was very brave and didn't cry. She says it hurts though if anything touches her thumb. Hopefully she'll heal up quickly and be back to her regular activities (and chores!) soon.

speech

I finally got a call back from Elijah's new speech therapist today. He will be starting on Tuesday, and will be going every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:40-10:10. He will be getting his session in small groups with 2 other boys, and may even switch teachers from time to time. I guess there are a lot of kids getting speech this year, and they now have three therapists on staff. He's come a long way in the past two years, so I feel fairly confident that this little disruption to what we were expecting won't be problematic for him. He's really excited to start back again.

Jingle bells jingle bells............

So, obviously it's not really Christmas, but it sure feels like it at our house! The packages of school supplies started arriving today, and will continue to trickle in until Tuesday. Today we got one box full of books from Amazon, and a box of stuff from Sonlight. Our Sonlight box had all the kids math curriculum, a balance scale, a farm puzzle for Isaac, and a couple of books. So far the scale and the puzzle are huge hits with the kids! One very interesting book I got from Amazon today is called Material World: A Global Family Portrait. It shows families from all over the world, the things they own, what they eat, how they live, etc...... It really is quite fascinating. Tomorrow I should be getting a huge order from Scholastic with lots of fun story books and some games. Monday I will be getting another large box of books from Amazon, and a large box of books and other goodies from Rainbow Resource. Tuesday we should be getting our last two boxes from Amazon. I have a few other items coming as well, but I'm not expecting those for another week or so. Now I have to get crackin' on the planning because we are going to start Monday!!

Birthday

Despite Bella's unfortunate accident, Genna seemed to have a nice birthday. We started off the morning with fresh blueberry muffins and a couple gifts.


Opening the gift that Bella put together for her


A new wallet with a little money inside!



Isaac was really excited about Genna's gifts!


A Coconut card set from American Girl (Coconut is a dog)


A new gymnastics leotard to wear at gymnastics later in the day


It was at gymnastics that Bella shut her finger in the car door, so that canceled Genna's plans to go to Starbucks with Jeremy after class and go to McDonalds play land for dinner. Instead she got to open a few more gifts when we got home from the hospital, and we went through the drive-through for Happy Meals.


New shoes (she got a new outfit that matched the shoes too)



A new purse full of goodies from American Girl


In Genna's words "Wow an iDog! Just what I always wanted! And it even comes with an iPod!"


Genna and her loot. She named the dog Emma, and they have been inseparable.

After dinner grandma and papa came over with stuff to make ice cream sundaes, which was a much needed treat after a long day. I promised Genna that when Bella's finger gets better I will take them to McDonalds for their play day that I promised. It will certainly be a birthday to remember!

Happy Birthday?

Well, Genna's birthday didn't turn out exactly as she planned, but at least the worst part of the day happened to Bella and not her. When we went to take Genna to gymnastics Bella shut her thumb in the car door. I left Genna at gymnastics (Jeremy was on his way to get her after class), dropped the babies off for a play day at my mom's school, and headed to the ER with Bella and Elijah. She was very brave even though she was nervous and in pain. (I think the skittles helped)

She ended up with a little hairline fracture. We are home, and she's all bandaged up, but still in pain. My poor girl.

Going to the chaple and we're gonna get married.......

On Sunday Jeremy and I went to a wedding for a lady I've known since elementary school. It was a beautiful day, and she put together such a wonderful wedding. Despite the fact that the grooms father passed away just days before, it was so fun and relaxing. Malia (the bride) has always been a super sweet, fun, funny girl. The ceremony was short and sweet and at the end they shared a quick kiss, and then Malia turned to the guests and said "that's it! were done!" haha! Later after a round of toasts (which were quite comical), they shared a first dance. They assumed "slow dance" positions, but then suddenly a pop song came on. The bride and groom quickly stepped back and did some fun dance moves. Our first reaction was that Malia was just fun and quirky enough to choose a pop song as her first dance, but once the lyrics started to play she turned to the DJ with a horrified look in here eyes saying "this is not our song!" The song that came on was All I Have by Jennifer Lopez, and in case you are not familiar with the lyrics, here is the first bit of it:

Its such a shame but I’m leaving

Cant take the way ur mistreating me

And it’s crazy but oh baby

It don’t matta whatever don’t phase me

Ll cool j: I don’t believe u wanna leave like this

I don’t believe I jus had my last real kiss

I do believe we’ll laugh and reminisce

Wait a minute don’t bounce baby

Lets talk about this

Now I'm sure you understand why she looked so horrified! The song was supposed to be All My Life by K-C and JoJo.

The wedding was held at a place called A Country Location in Smokey Point, and it was absolutely gorgeous! There was a small lake with rowboats for people to take out, croquet, mini golf, and lovely walking paths. A girl that I had been friends with since preschool age, but had lost touch with after high school, was there. It was so nice to get reacquainted with her. It was an all around perfect Sunday.

wishlist of an (almost) soldier

I got a second letter today from Greg, and I have repeatedly told him to let me know if there is anything I can send to him. He finally sent me his wish list, and the simplicity of it made me chuckle a bit but also gave me a glimpse of what boot camp life must be like if this is what he wants:

candy

underwear

cough drops

more letters

It almost makes me sad that the things he desires most right now are so simple, but I will certainly be sending off a care package ASAP!

Follow the little black line......

Today Bella and I went shopping, and one of our stops was the teacher supply store. While we were there she spotted the display of rocks and minerals and asked if she could buy a shiny yellow rock. (I said yes ;) ) Later tonight Genna asked "why is there a black crayon line on the floor?" Sure enough there was a black line leading from the living room, through the kitchen, to the kid's bedroom. We followed the line and found Bella. When I asked her why she did it she said "I wanted everyone to know where to find my rock." A. our house is not that big, we do not need a path or a treasure map for this (although we could use one for their shoes!) B. her plan backfired big time because Isaac followed the black line, found the yellow rock, and kept it for himself!

questions questions questions

Bella has reached the age of questions and she questions EVERYTHING!!!! The newest one is:

"why does people don't knows when they say they don't know and what does just mean?"

Anytime she asks me something and I mistakenly answer with "I just don't know", that is the reply I always get. She's so fun. (I mean that sincerely; she really is a fun kid to have around)

Here is what brown can do for me.....

Tracking devices on packages! Ok, so it might not be practical or cost efficient, but it would certainly save my sanity! I hate seeing that my package was sent out for delivery at 4:30 am and not knowing when it will get here! 1. I have no patience. 2. I don't want to miss the truck by being out of the house. 3. Delivery trucks sometimes have a hard time finding our house and I usually send the welcoming committee (aka: the kids) down to show them the way. Poor Genna plants herself in front of the window for hours waiting to spot the big brown truck. The only problem is that today it's her birthday gifts that are coming, and the name of the company is on the box, so she has been forbidden from her usual watch and welcome. Hopefully they will get here before we leave for Elijah's sports skills class at 4:20, but for now it's just watching and waiting...............

Do it yourself day!

Today I declared it a "DO IT YOURSELF DAY". After being up around the clock for 3 days looking after Isaac (who is doing much better), I woke up exhausted and sick today. I went to start a new load of clothes, realized I was out of laundry soap, and went to retrieve the new bottle that had been left by the front door. On my way to the washing machine I spotted the dishwasher open and realized it needed to be re-loaded and run. Somehow in a chain of events that I'm still fuzzy about I did not in fact load the dishwasher, but I did pour laundry soap in it instead. I have no comment on that. When I realized my blunder I told the kids it was a DO IT YOURSELF DAY. If you want a snack, get it yourself. If you want lunch, make your own. If you are fighting, work it out without me. I'm available for book readings only today.

Asthma sucks

There really is no nice way to say it. It just plain bites! My poor Isaac has just a simple cold, yet you would think he just ran a marathon and was then punched in the gut the way he's been breathing. He didn't sleep AT ALL last night. He just cried, screamed, and moaned with 10 minute rests every couple hours. I tried to get him to take a bath or shower last night and this morning, but both times he just wanted to lay on the bathroom floor so I just let the water run and the bathroom get nice and steamy for him. Thank goodness he is finally resting somewhat comfortably on my bed right now with his nebulizer mask on. He hasn't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday; he just will not take anything. I had to buy formula for Nahshon today, so I grabbed a box of Popsicles. Isaac looked very interested in the store, but he only took a couple licks and gave up. Luckily I have all the ingredients to make a pot of chicken noodle soup for him tonight. I'm hoping if we cuddle up in bed with a movie I'll be able to get him to eat a bit. My poor baby.

UPDATE: He managed to sleep for 2 hours, and when he woke up he had two Popsicles, half a bowl of soup, and a bubble bath. He's still very sick, but at least he got some food and fluids in.

Hi? Hi? HI!

Nahshon can talk! I don't think Elijah or Isaac said anything this early! (well, I KNOW Elijah didn't say anything this early) I thought I heard Nahshon say hi a few days ago, but then he wouldn't do it again so I figured he just made a funny noise. Yesterday I decided to take him to the church nursery for the very first time, and when I picked him up I was standing in the hall waiting for Jeremy and the other kids and he said HI! I gave him a big smile and said hi right back and then he said it again!!! When I told Jeremy though Nahshon just gave him a goofy grin and wouldn't even make a peep. Silly boy. I am just over the moon that my baby boy can talk, and he chose me to say his first word to. Pure bliss.........

Halloween

Today Bella announced what she is going to be for Halloween:

FANCY

well, at least one of us does

Yesterday morning while sitting down at breakfast Bella was jabberin' away about something, to which I said "I have no idea what you are talking about Bella." She promptly replied "well I know EXACTLY what I'm talking about." Well, thank goodness for that I guess.

swinging with sister

What a lucky guy Nahshon is to have Genna for a sister

going on a berry hunt

Elijah discovered we have blackberries growing on the side and behind the house. He picked enough that we had them on ice cream, made swedish pancakes with blackberries, and even made a blackberry pie!

getting in on the school fun!

Just like the big kids!

Bella and her babies

I found Bella just hanging out in her baby doll crib with all her babies

Hello. Meet my tongue.

Nahshon's new favorite thing to do is stick his tongue out. Not sure why exactly because he doesn't like if you touch it (unlike Isaac who used to love it when I would pet his tongue as a baby...he was like a little whale!), but he spends most of the day now with it sticking out.

working together

Even though I have not yet put in the order for our school books, I have researched the heck out of my choices and have decided we are going start with Papa Piccolo from our Five in a Row curriculum. The story takes place in Venice, so I asked Genna if she could locate Italy on the map:

looking.....looking...........

Isaac thinks maybe it's over here

No Isaac, I'm pretty sure it's somewhere over here

Maybe it's up here Genna

Eureka! I found it!!!!!

It's right here Isaac

Italy!!! Also known as "the boot"!

Announcement!

I have made my homeschool decisions, and I am announcing them publicly so that I won't change my mind between now and when I place the order in the next couple of days. For our main curriculum, we will be going with Five In A Row. I like the fact that I can beef it up as needed for Genna, but will be gentle and easy enough for Elijah and Bella to do also. (I need to combine as much as possible to save time and sanity) Five in a row provides lessons in art, social studies, language arts, science, and applied math. (a different lesson each day) Elijah and Bella will be using Explode the Code for extra language arts practice, and Genna will use the Queen's Language Lessons. Each child will use Singapore math at their own levels. The girls will use Reason for Handwriting and Elijah will use Handwriting Without Tears. In addition to the science lessons provided by Five In A Row, I have put together my own under the sea study for this year. We will be ordering the Aquarium Guide from the Answers in Genesis company to use along with our membership to the Seattle Aquarium. Genna will be using Rosetta Stone to learn Chinese, and will do a light year long study on China to go with it. (I've found some great books for her, and will be using resources from Letter Of The Week which now offers country of the week) We will be reading American Girl books for a little added history, and I will probably pick up a copy of Story Of The World Vol. 1. (Genna loves history) Just for fun, I'm going to get the Frances book pack and study guide from Rainbow Resources. I've always loved the Frances books, and I think the kids will also. During the month of December we will put most formal academics on hold and devote the month to religious studies. I even found a website that gave Bible verses, activities, recipes, etc.... for every day of Advent. I'm also ordering a handful of books from Sonlight (some are just read-aloud chapter books, some are books to go along with the Five In A Row titles), and a bunch from Scholastic. Honestly though, I order a handful of Scholastic books with almost every book order they send me. With the bonus points, $1 books, freebies, and coupons, you just can't beat the amount paid for the amount of books! I was able to get the Five In A Row cookbook from one of the mom's in our homeschool group, so we will be doing a lot of cooking this year. I'm also getting a handful of items for Isaac with my orders, to keep him happy and busy while we work. (puzzles, turning magnetic gears, lacing beads, board books, etc.....) I'm also picking up a couple new floor puzzles for the kids, a couple new games, musical instruments, and lots of art supplies. It's going to be a busy, but super fun year I think!!!

Awww nuts!

The kids are outside and Bella just brought me something and asked "what is this?" After carefully studying the item for a few moments and pondering to myself what it could possibly be I realized, IT'S PART OF MY GLASSES! (or at least was part of my glasses) I don't know the who's and why's, but I'm so bummed! I HATE going to the eye doctor, but I guess I was due anyhow. (it's been about 3 or 4 years)

Back in the world........sort of

Jeremy grabbed Greg's cell for me to use until I can get a new phone. He switched my SIM card, so it's still my number but my ring tone is now "Shake It" and my phone greeting is SEMPER FI DO OR DIE. (it's still greg's info saved on the phone) At least I'm back in the world now!

cookbook cooking

Tonight we tried two recipes from the new cookbooks I bought. (both recipes were from the Goodness Gracious cookbook) We made the corn chowder and country cheese biscuits, yum! Both recipes were very easy, filling, and good! Genna actually made the corn chowder herself! (I cooked the bacon, but she cut it up and did everything else herself!) My notes on the recipes: put more cheese in the cheese biscuits, and the soup recipe makes about 10 bowls of very hearty soup so you will want to cut in in half if you have a small family and don't want to be eating the same soup for 3 days! (it's an easy recipe to cut in half) It's also a very budget friendly recipe, which is always a plus. Best part is that the kids liked it and it filled them up!