The Heat and Swelling

I am looking around the house thinking to myself I should pick it up and vacuum. Then I look at my swollen hands, feet, and legs and think, "Nope, just have to lay here with my feet up." It's driving me crazy. It was only in the upper 80's today and I have the AC cranked down to 62- still no help with the swelling. I cancelled the kids field trip to see the tadpoles and birds at another local homeschool family's house and have been trying to take it easy. Hopefully tomorrow I can feel like I've gotten more accomplished!

Green Hour Challenge # 10

We have been trying to incorporate the Green Hour Challenges http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HarmonyArtMom/520635/(hit and miss) into our homeschool. Last week the challenge was to have a picnic. The kids and I went to our favorite park not far from Mark's work. Going there is always a treat! It's on the river, has trails (okay, I confess they are paved), ducks, two big play structures, clean restrooms, camping, picnic tables and benches galore, and large grassy areas to run and play in.

We packed up a loaf of bread for the ducks, bags of bird seed for the birds, and lots of snacks and goodies for ourselves. We fed the birds and waited for them to come down from the trees and start eating. Then the ducks and geese floated close to us by the river and the kids broke up their bread to throw to the ducks.
Jeffrey and Brooklynn followed them quite a ways down river and we ended up on the paved trail 1 mile loop. I let the kids take the lead and enjoyed watching them making nature discoveries. Brooklynn found and collected every type of flower on the path. Jeffrey walked in the tall grasses and found several kinds of bugs. Brooklynn found quite a few places to play where the trees formed a canopy and made a 'nature house' for her and Jeffrey to play in. I let them go off the trail and hike a few hills. They were delighted to have the freedom and time to 'explore' by themselves. The great part about this park is that every 100 feet or so is a picnic table or bench. I took many opportunities to sit and rest while they hiked around ( It's getting harder to waddle around in the heat!). We ate our goodies at a picnic table on the trail and decided it would be a great spot to visit again with Dad and have a picnic dinner.

Life

Life has kept us busy the last few weeks. We had a wonderful time when our cousins from down south came up for a visit! What could be better than a few day of playing with cousins? Building gear inventions... Playing StarWars Master Jedi..., looking at Alex's adorable face, and coloring with Camilla.

The following week Jeffrey and Brooklynn took turns being sick. Yuck. I'm so glad they are feeling better! Lots of laundry to wash, but the upside was getting to eat all of those popsicles right along with them!

One highlight of the past few weeks was that Jeffrey learned how to ride his bike all on his own without training wheels! And, he was so excited about it that he taught Brooklynn how to do it in less than an hour. So now it's my turn to live up to my promise- new bikes for their birthdays because they learned to ride with no training wheels. Why do I always make silly bargains?

Saturday finally rolled around and I frantically tried to put together sharing time and singing time for primary. Our chorister was out of town, my counselor had to work, and the other one could only stay part of the time because she is in a local play production. Sunday came and one of the teachers didn't show up. So between my crazy schedule, I had to find an extra teacher and pianist.Needless to say, Sunday was hectic. I came home and all I could do was feed the kids a few hotdogs and have them lay down to watch a movie while I took a nap (Mark had a few hours of meetings after church.)

Farewell Barry....Wait a Second

For the last week and a half, Brooklynn has been carrying around her new pet in a jar. Barry the snail has been a constant companion. He sleeps on the bookcase next to her bed, watches her eat meals, and when she goes outside to play she finds a babysitter for him. Usually, I am the lucky one. She has made all sorts of 'interesting' snail observations (which she is more than willing to share with all who will listen), learned their habits, drawn portraits of Barry, and learned the different parts of his body.

By Saturday Barry had pretty much stopped moving. He didn't come out of his shell anymore. Poor Barry. Monday I finally had the nerve to tell her that Barry had died. (He had been suctioned to the side of the jar and was starting to come loose.) She burst into tears and sobbed in my arms for quite a while. She finally decided that he must be buried. Jeffrey and I were her much needed moral support. She chose his final resting spot in the backyard, dug a hole, buried him, and created a mound of dirt to mark the site. It was a VERY EMOTIONAL day.

This morning she went to pay tribute to her friend. There was a hole in the ground where she had buried his shell and he was no longer there. Another burst of tears. Then she thought, "This is the 3rd day since he was buried, maybe he was resurrected!" She ran all over the yard looking for Barry. And guess what? She found him along with Cherry and Dirty and a baby snail. What joy! What ecstasy! An entire family of snails!

Beat at My Own Game

Last week, Jeffrey was constantly fiddling with the camera. So, I took it away and hid it in one of "my favorite" hiding spots. I later could not remember if I had put it on top of the fridge, in with the fine china, or in one of Mark's dresser drawers. Needless to say, I have spent the week looking through every nook and cranny of each closet and cupboard. Still, I could not find it. So, yesterday I asked Brooklynn if she knew where the camera was. She said, "No." Then she ran off and within a minute was back with the camera in her hand. "Where did you find it Brooklynn,?" I asked. "I had it in my special spot," was the reply.

Our Budding Scientist

We read the book, "How A Seed Grows." Brooklynn was really excited to do an experiment and watch some pole bean seeds develop. She even tracked their progress with her camera (too bad it had no film.) Now, they are in our garden!

My Favorite Things

I tried to ride my bike without training wheels. Dad said to try hopping on with one foot. I felt more comfortable with extra padding.

I like to be riding my scooter super fast. When we're going to the park I like to ride my scooter. I like going down hills by running. I like playing fun games. And, I like playing baseball on the Wii. I also like playing baseball in real life. And, that's all I want to say. -Dictated by Jeffrey

Our Week in Review

This week we were able to get the garden planted (we meaning Mark and the kids). Mark and the kids prepped the garden area: weeded, rototilled, and made furrows. We planted: corn, pole beans, tomatoes (big boys and cherry tomatoes), potatoes, peas, green peppers, and watermelon. It's our most diverse garden to date. We're looking forward to watching it grow and harvesting. Jeffrey has plans to make a pea salad for the family. Our only problem is trying to keep all of the neighborhood cats away at night so they don't step on the seedlings. Any suggestions?

Jeffrey lost his second tooth. It was dangling by a thread one evening and Mark decided it was time for it to be out. He and Jeffrey went into the kitchen and Jeffrey came back with his tooth in his hand! Aren't dads great!! His new tooth started coming in the next day.

Brooklynn and I had some "girl time." We went to the store to choose an outfit for the baby to wear home from the hospital. We went through every rack of clothing and held on to our favorites. We finally narrowed our selection down to three. Then of course, Brooklynn had the final say in the outfit- a little winnie the pooh layette with a white background and pink little flowers all over. On the way home she took it off of the hanger and held it. She wanted to know how she was going to get it on the baby's head and hands at the same time. She is sooo excited to be a big sister and wants to make sure everything is thought of and just right! I'm thinking she is going to want to take over the mothering!

The rest of the week we did our routine: homeschool, park days, art lessons, and play dates with friends. We went on a walk through the neighborhood and the kids learned about our state flower, it's name, and which neighbors have it in their yards. We enjoyed listening to conference and spending time with family.

Pizza for Reading

Pizza Hut is offering a free personal size pizza every month (October 2008-March 2009) to children who sign up and participate in their BOOK IT challenge. You can sign up at www.bookitprogram.com or you can call 1-800-426-6548. The deadline is June 15.

Sounds like a great incentive!! Jeffrey and Brooklynn are excited!