New blogger-Alayna

Alayna my 10 year old daughter  has decided to take over my blog because I don't have to much time for it. She will do a good job of keeping everyone apprised of all our goings on.

Hey, Remember Me?

I'm back! I hope at least. It seems I have been able to carve out a little free time in the afternoons lately and the old urge to blog has come back! I won't try to catch you up on the last nine months all at once, not that anything too exciting has happened, but the kids are growing and all. Can't seem to stop them! Here's a quick clip of Aubie learning to snap beans. He's 19 months now and is becoming quite the personality; actually quite the strong willed personality. He is reminding me of Alayna!

Preparation Week

We've now ended three weeks of unstructured, unscheduled, flying by the seat of our pants while ignoring all cirriculum with the exception of History (who can ignore History?), and while it's been a nice change of pace and perhaps a necessary bit of chaos mixed with boredom and bickering, the kids and I are about ready to dive back into life the way we're used to doing things. The official schedule is almost complete minus the fact that I left out time to actually eat breakfast this year and that won't work as no one in our family can fathom skipping a meal. Next to do are the chorepacks, setting up new notebooks, finish reorganizing the home education room, and probably 30 other things I forgot about but will have to tackle once the educating process has begun.

Alton is particularly excited about this year because I am switching him from Saxon Math to Teaching Textbooks. I love Saxon and had a hard time with the decision, but 9 months of frustration and we both knew things had to change. Teaching textbooks is mostly done on the computer and has less busy work. Those of you who have done Saxon know how overwhelming all the work can be even if you pare it down a little. I'll keep everyone else doing Saxon until they reach 5th grade then reevaluate.

I mentioned this last year, but want to post again for those that didn't see it. We us "Managers of Their Homes" for our scheduling format and chore packs. I honestly don't know how it would work with four if I had not come across this. www.titus2.com

Mineral Deficiency?

Aubin is now crawling everywhere. He's figured out how to open cabinet doors and sticks anything he can in his mouth. We've had a new issue with keeping all legos off the floor because every day for a week we were fishing them out of his mouth. I think the kids have finally learned because I take legos away if I find them not put away!

He also enjoys the sandbox, but we have a little problem with him stuffing his mouth with the sand. So, we've been sitting him in the grass while we do yard work...and people wonder why we got to the trouble to do our lawn organically.

Swimming Lessons for All

We discovered a little late in the summer that the kids could take swim lessons for next to nothing at a base close to our home. We just got in on the last two week session. The kids loved it and were able to all three have classes at the same time. It worked great because as the kids swam Aubin napped in his stroller each day. I don't think he even knew he went to the pool for two weeks.

Alayna anxious for her turn to swim.

Avery's lessons were only 25 minutes while the others were an hour. He had a little time to kill when his lesson was over each day.

Alton crossing the pool with his newly honed kicking skills.

Avery enjoying pool time.

Tea for Three

Alayna is the persistant sort; very, very persistant actually. It works for her too. She gets an idea in her head and then pursues it until her poor tired mommy gives out. Her latest plan: a tea party. You're probably thinking that sounds harmless enough and that she shouldn't have to ask twice, however there is much more that goes into an Alayna planned tea party than you might think. There are specific groceries to buy, special dishes to display the food finery, the perfect place, time, and activities to be worked out.

When I finally settled on a day that I thought I could fit it in, she went full throttle. At least I don't have to do the planning once I agree. She called the two girls she wanted to invite and told them to wear puffy dresses and bring their fans. She was going to tell them what color their dresses should be so that they would be coordinated, but I discouraged that idea.

Today was the day, and by 11am I was completely spent with the preparations in addition to other things that came up as I knew they would. While it left a tired mommy, it left a happier little girl with some fun memories. Here are some scenes. All Set.

Plenty of yummy things to eat!

Time to dance and spin!

Already 8 Months

Even big babies have uncontrollable urges to nap mid-play.

A Dietary Indiscretion Leads to an Unexpected Blogging Opportunity

...Probably my longest title yet. It stems from a mind that is exceeding the speed limit with no signs of stopping. To what do I owe this state of things? A chocolate, sugar something or other, hyper-caffienated, iced coffee, spontaneously purchased at a weak moment is keeping me wide awake. At this point, I am not expected to arrive in dreamland anytime soon. Why did I do it? It was truly an act of rebellion. I've been working really diligently on my nutrition intake over the last two weeks and something in me gave in to temptation. I am in a deep state of regret and paying dearly for my choice. I resent the look of what I now understand to be amusement on the coffee barista's face when I placed the order.

Perhaps there are other things contributing to my lack of sleep. I enjoyed/endured a whole day of home school conference (with Aubin in tow) and I am inspired of course, with a million ideas and thoughts, and cirriculums fighting for center stage in my brain. I am completely overwhelmed by the new ideas and books and activities to share with my kids. It's exciting, thrilling, and oh-so-exhausting.

This, combined with the alarming amount of caffiene that I apparently took in has lead to time for reading a book, time for devotions/prayer, solving a scheduling problem that has irked me for some time, and now blogging. I am almost nervous because I've just about completed my to-do list. Well, I guess that's never true, but of the things that do not make noise and wake others peacefully sleeping away in my home, I am running low. 2:30am hmm....guess it's time to study some more aromatherapy as I have been meaning to do for weeks.

Sun and Sand

The big day arrived and our neighborhood pool finally opened! After a mostly swimless summer last year, the kids were ready to dive in.

Aubie, who knew nothing of swimming pool bliss, began to sense something exciting in the air when he was dressed in a brand new Speedo.

Yeah, probably not what you were invisioning. This Speedo actually offers lots of sun protection!

Now he was all ready, but for what exactly?

Hmmm...not exaclty the response we were hoping for his first time ever in the pool, but we can't blame him too much. The water was a bit on the cold side.

In other outdoor fun. Rob picked up a bargain of a sandbox for Avery. It sits right outside the kitchen window so I can keep an eye on him. He spends a lot of time in it. Little did I know that he wouldn't be the only one to play in it. Alton, Alayna, and Aubin, all enjoy it as well.

Growing Baby

Aubin is over 7 months old now. He's growing fast. Lately, he enjoys interacting with his siblings and "playing" with Avery especially. He has two teeth and two more that just broke through. Most of the time he's happy and easy going unless he doesn't get those important baby things like a good nap or a meal on time :)

And is it possible lately to have a blog entry that doesn't involve some incident with Avery?

This weekend involved a trip to the ER after Avery fell headlong into the corner of a wall and gashed his forhead open. We couldn't really close it with a bandaid and so we quickly loaded up the van and headed to the hospital. He was able to get glued back together quickly enough; no stitches thankfully. It's already looking much better and I think should heal with little to no scarring.

Thank you God for.....eewwww!

With Rob gone to Charlottesville for a promotion ceremony of a good friend, I had nighttime routine duty. Normally this is my debriefing time where I get a few moments of quiet to myself. Tired as I was, I proceeded with the nightime routine of Bible reading and prayer. I did Avery separately from Alton and Alayna or I don't think the following would have occured.

As we were getting ready to pray, I quickly grabbed Avery's wrist in order to intercept the nasal by-product he was about to place in his mouth. Somehow I never dreamed I would have a child that had this habit, but he does and I want to gag everytime I see it. As I held his wrist I admonished for the 200th time, "No, that is gross! We don't do that!" As soon as I let go, he popped his finger in his mouth. Uggh! Sorry, I should've put a warning label on this post for the faint-hearted. I then went into a longer more dramatic admonishment. His response was only to look at me expressionless. I sighed and said, "You pray first." Avery is already quite adept at prayer, but usually sticks to the same things each night like thank you for Dad, thank you for Mom, etc...Tonight he had new material. "God, thank you for my boogers." God has heard everything now.

And Baby Dedication

I just realized I left the important part of the Baby Dedication out of my last post. So here it is. This past Sunday while Grandma was here, we had Aubin dedicated. He took it very seriously and paid close attention to every word our Pastor said.

Here's some more pics of our now 7month old boy!

Grandma, Balls, and Baby Dedications

Obviously it's been a long time since I've written. My computer time is all but gone these days for some reason and if I do sit down with 10 or 20 minutes, I have felt uninspired to write. Today's blog is brought to you by my Mom ,who were it not for her presence here over the last few days, I would not have these few moments to sit here, much less think of something to write!

Pa Pa as the kids call her, flew in on Thursday in cloudy skies. Soon after her arrival, I began to realize that most activities planned involved being outdoors. The fact that our van began having problems several hours later, also complicated any exciting adventures to be had. That being said, there was still plenty to do. Last night Rob and I got all gussied up for a Regimental Ball. With my Mom at the helm I was able to enjoy the evening and not worry a bit about the kids. Aubie especially, had yet to be left for an evening of more than a couple of hours. He is refusing to take a bottle (think I waited too late) and so I prepared my Mom for the hour of so of crying she was do endure. I don't mean I expected her to cry, but Aubie :) For the most part, things went fine at the house and no one was traumatized! Rob and I had a particularly nice time at the Ball probably due to the fact that the food was brought on quickly (I've waited til 8:30 before to eat at these things!), the entertainment was awesome and there was only one speaker (I've endured up to three 30 to 45 minute speakers at these things!). He kept things short and sweet, so the evening was perfectly enjoyable.

Rob and I came home exhausted, but still smiling!

Ten Years Ago Today

Alton posing with a woodworking project he and Rob finished.

So hard to believe that Alton is now 10! An official "tweenager" as he enthusiastically announced this morning. So what is this 10 year old like? Well, he's humorous, obedient, creative, smart, helpful, and affectionate. Some of his interests include Lego projects (Star Wars in particular), Ninetendo DS, and guitar lessons. His little brother Avery worhsips the ground he walks on and follows him everywhere. Alton is as patient as can be expected about this. I make sure I guard some of his time each day because he's one of those kids that needs a few hours alone to recharge. He also has an ornery streak and likes practical jokes when he can pull one off. Unfortunately, Alayna, who is usually the victim neither appreciates, nor understands his humor. They do get along nicely on occasion. Alton is growing up to be a wonderful person and best of all, he loves Jesus!

This Whirlwind Called Life

Another day past at the speed of light and it still seems as though not much was accomplished. This unfortunately is not due to the fact that I was diligently keeping the sabbath holy, resting and meditating on heavenly things. I was in motion all day playing catch up on a million things. Okay, there was the 10 minutes I tried to steal away to nap on the couch with Aubin's vocal complaints about sitting on his Daddy's lap to watch basketball swirling loudly around my head. After about 7 minutes, I gave that up and scooped him up to give him the quality time he was requesting.

Life here is well, different. It's more different than any other place we've lived. The culture here is so fast paced, political, and somewhat isolated as no one has time to really connect with their fellow man. Rob and I both feel like God brought us here, but we often wonder why. Quite honestly, Rob is miserable in his job and has close to no freetime to recouperate after the long weeks work. My sentiment is not one of misery, but more of frustration as I never end a day without feeling I left way too much undone. Each day in turn, seems as if I'm winging it and that lack of organization leaves me frazzled.

Regretfully, I realized how quickly I have become "one of them;" rushing around without a thought or care about the other people buzzing around me. The only way this was brought to my attention was when I went to Joann Fabrics to buy supplies to make curtains. After an hour of wandering aimlessly and indecisively, I scrapped the curtains for the day and decided on making a dress for Alayna. I recently bought a sewing machine and am itching to use it. Anyway, ready to have my material cut, I noticed that the procedure was to take a number and wait until it was called. I did and out popped number 46. At that moment, they called number 35. Ugh! I looked around and noticed three women working the cutting tables and eased up a little until after standing there for 10 minutes and realizing what was going on!

Here we are in a busy, upwardly mobile, rush around city where nobody bothers with anyone and at Joann Fabrics nobody seemed to know it. The ladies working the table took they're time and were talking with the customers who amicably chatted back. They even stopped cutting to continue their conversations and use hand gestures! One lady spent probably 15 minutes with her customer trying to help her find the perfect material for whatever she was making. I was seriously annoyed. Then it dawned on me how ridiculous that was. I realized how quickly I had disposed of my southern upbringing and gone right along with the flow of silly pursuit of I'm not sure what. Now mind you, I did have my reasons for being in a hurry such as getting home to nurse a baby and not leaving my children for too long at the home of my generous friend who offered to watch them for a spell while I slipped away. Still, however, it gave me pause.

I think to sum it up, God never intended for us to lay around relaxing all the time. He wants us busy. It's what we're busy at that matters and putting THAT into perspective is the challenge; one I'll be working on.

The Monkey Eating a Banana

It's time for yet another story about Avery. Lately, you never know what is going to come out of his mouth!

While loading up the van yesterday, a construction worker working on the house next door was standing at the end of our driveway enjoying a banana. He was short, had brown hair, and tanned skin. I was juggling a baby and all the other things I seem to need to load in the car to go anywhere. I was distracted, but soon snapped out of it when I realized what Avery was saying very loudly,"I see a monkey eating a banana! I see a monkey eating a banana!" As there was no monkey, I realized he thought our little construction friend was a monkey. Horrified, that I too saw a slight resemblence, I shushed Avery in hopes that he had not heard. I quickly got in the van and left.

The van is not necessarily a place of refuge from Avery's mouth. We had to make a Burger King run today (yes we do that every now and then) because we were running late for Alton's guitar lesson as usual. While at the window waiting for our food Avery said of the lady working the window, "That old lady!" Yikes! I turned and gave Avery a be quiet stare and once again hoped that the comment was not heard by the recipient.

Okay, a quick Aubie update. He has good things coming in his mouth; two teeth to be exact. I just spotted them today. My last baby is growing up too fast!

I Want Your Comments

Here is an interesting little video series I watched recently. I would love to know what other people's take on it is. Watch it and then come back and comment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcdo0kDhtc&feature=PlayList&p=3DD93625F1C78B1F&index=0&playnext=1

You Be Robin

I was really hoping Avery would skip the whole super hero fascination thing, but as of about two weeks ago. He's started exhibiting all the signs and symptoms that I have already been through with Alton. I will say it was amusing the other day when he strutted into the library wearinghis Bibleman cape and all the librarians started pointing and giggling. Librarians giggling...that's not something you see everyday.

Most days he is Batman; which of course makes me Robin. Avery is the kind of kid that doesn't enjoy playing on his own. Since we're all home together each day he exhausts Alton and Alayna and so it often leaves me as a playmate. Not a real good choice considering how much I have to do to keep our lives running (notice I didn't say running smoothly). Anyway, I have learned that instead of putting him off saying I am busy, it is much easier to just go along with his game while multi-tasking. He will run up to me and say, "I am Batman. You be Robin." "Okay, what is our mission?" The mission most often involves "Puming" bad guys which is the word around our house for firing a large and dangerous weapon. I believe Avery coined it. Anyway, I will usually drop whatever I'm holding (unless it's Aubie) and take a couple of laps around the house "puming" with him. Then I tell him to go on the next mission alone while I "man the controls." In Mommy language that means get a few more things done while staying in one place. He is fine with this and off he goes.

I guess it's not all super heros. He often refers to me as R2D2. I don't play this role as well as Robin apparently because whenever I try to imitate R2D2 noises, he tells me to "Stop that!" Often he calls me clone Mommy. I always think to myself that we could use some clone mommies around this house. I think a lot more would get done and I could spend more time "puming."

Goodbye Faithful Lizzie Puppy

Almost 7 years ago, you showed up at our door. We weren't looking for a dog, we had two cats, but you quickly won our hearts and became one of the family as if you always had been.

Obedient, smart, energetic, great with the kids. We couldn't have asked for a better dog.

Lizzie we'll always remember how fun it was to take you on hikes and camping; how you could scale rocks with the best of them. We'll remember how high you could jump, how crazy you'd act when reunited with us after a trip, and what a loud bark you had. I'll always remember all the runs we had together and that a two year old Alayna once said that you had chocolate eyes.

We're sorry we failed you; that we didn't know the consequences of over-vaccination and the ridiculous cycle that follows. I explained to the kids that you were in heaven now with a brand new body. When I was little at church camp one year, the speaker said that our pets wouldn't be in heaven. I didn't care for that guy ever since. We'll believe you're up there whether it's true or not and that you're happy and not suffering anymore. We love you and we won't forget you...

Not Your Ordinary 3 Year Old

Avery demonstrates how to enjoy your birthday cake in one big bite!

With the beautiful weather we had today. We couldn't keep ourselves inside. After church and lunch we all retreated to the backyard to enjoy some sunshine. A strange thing occured after about 15 minutes. Avery came down from the woods in our yard and said, "I need a nap." He went in the house. He does this from time to time telling us he is ready for his nap. Rob and I find it strange and delightful that we don't have naptime battles with him.

I watched him take himself into the house and figured Rob would put him down since he had stepped inside. A few minutes later Rob asked me where Avery was. "Didn't you put him down for a nap?" "No" was his response. A few minutes later I went upstairs and Avery was sound asleep in his bed. Wow, that was easy. Now if he will over get over the tantrums that have appeared a week after he turned three...