Look Who's Two!

Happy Birthday F!

Why They Share One Room

Sometimes I think I'm crazy for stuffing two bunk beds and four kids into one 9 by 10 bedroom.

 The Early Birds

But when they stay up late telling each other stories and we find them snuggled up in the morning, I totally change my mind.

The Second Mouse

Homeschooling With Work Files

The latest fad in homeschooling organization is Sue Patrick's Workbox System.  I think this is a great idea, but I don't have space for two shoe racks with 12 plastic shoe boxes each.  Let alone five when things really get going around here.  In the spirit of creativity and inspiration, I went to Office Depot to see what I could come up with that would mimic the basic idea.

I have two desk top file holders, one for each student, and each file holder has 8 numbered files.  In the morning I fill the folders with some kind of worksheet, workbook, note, game, or snack.  Each boy is responsible for working systematically through his folders, putting his completed work in the file tray next to the files and the empty file folder in another file tray.  This morning, while the boys built machines with the Legos and Erector sets, I filled the files.  File 1 is handwriting, 2 is a reading comprehension worksheet, 3 is Explode the Code, 4 is a note that says "Go play outside!", 5 is math activity (subtraction practice for S, Mayan math for IJ), 6 is Writing With Ease, and 7 is Daily Geography. No #8 today.

Perfect Student #1

I feel like I've reinvented the way I homeschool so many times that incorporating Baby into everything is just another transition.  We get more reading time with the baby around since I seem to have to nurse him nonstop.  I've been reading stories out loud to the kids in the morning and afternoon and having S read out loud to me in the morning.  IJ even asked me to read some extra chapters in Story of the World this morning.  

Perfect Student #2

For some reason he is really excited to get to read about Henry VIII and his wives.  Anyway, one of these days I will have a file set up for E too.  Hers will be Kumon workbooks, games, coloring sheets... Each morning as I fill the files, I check the work done the day before for errors.  When I find an error, I write a little note telling them what to fix and what pages they need to do today.  As they complete the work, I enter it into my database (that I'm not too good at using) so I know they are making "progress" throughout the year.  I'm thankful they have reached the age where they can work independently.  As you can see, I have a bit of work still left to do in my school room!

What a mess!  But at least everything is at a level that I can reach while holding a baby that can't be put down (oh, my aching back).  He is two weeks old today!  And he slept six hours straight last night.

Mr. Cool

Baby Cradle

Write down the date and time!  Baby D is sleeping in his cradle!  This cradle is very special to me.  My dad designed and built it when I was on the way.  I slept in it and all five of my kids have slept in it.  Some kids liked it better than others.  E slept in the cradle until she couldn't fit in it anymore.  IJ slept in his carseat on top of the cradle for a few minutes.  I'm hoping Baby D will sleep more like E!

(And yes, I do realize most posts have been about F lately.  But she is the one causing all the mischief around here!  The other kids aren't as funny right now.  They're too busy playing.  Although IJ slipped and fell out of the van yesterday.  M said, "Smooth move Ex-Lax!  What do you do for an encore, gargle peanut butter?" IJ found this to be so hilarious I thought he was going to pee his pants from giggling so hard.  It has happened before.  So later, when he and his dad were playing catch and his dad missed the ball, IJ said, "Slippery egg yolks, Dad (giggle, giggle)!  What will you do for your audience (giggle, giggle)?  Peanut butter goggle (giggle, giggle)?"  He obviously forgot the entire thing, much to my amusement!) 

Rainy Day

F's New Haircut

Mud Puddles are Fun!

Until Daddy says, "Get out of that Mud Puddle!"

"I'm BUSY!"

(Yes, this is her favorite saying.  This and, "I'm WORKING!"

PB&J

Hold the peanut butter!

And the bread!

F and the Chickens

This morning, F patted my arm and said, "See a chickens?"  I'm thinking "NO!" based on yesterday.

M finished the chicken door, so now the chickens don't have to go through the human door to get outside.  His design is quite brilliant.  The door slides on a track and is large enough for several chickens to come in and out at the same time.  A good idea when you have 30 chickens trying to get out in the morning!

Henny Penny didn't get the memo.  Here she is saying, "There's a wolf on one side and a tiger on the other.  Let me in!"

But this post is about F and the chickens.  Here she is trying to get in the chicken door.  S tried it earlier and got pecked in the eye.  So we said, "F, watch out!  You're going to get pecked in the eye!"  She said:

"I'm BUSY!"

So she moved on to chicken chasing.  And picking up the chickens.  And hugging them so tight there wasn't a squawk left in their tiny little bodies.

As this one squawked, F said "Sh!"  And not in a loving, calming way- the way she could have learned from a nurturing, soothing mother.  She said it as a command.  Just like the way she hears it from her real mother.

This is what she looks like after she throws a chicken to make it fly and Daddy steps in.  Where did she learn the chicken throwing trick?  Ask the brother that was kicked out of the run for the same trick earlier!  

 See him next to the dog?  It's the same one that had his eye pecked.

M (who is now beard-less) says, "Get this kid out of here!"  And Henny Penny is still trying to get in through the wrong door!

One Week Old

Baby D is now one week old.  He has a definite pattern of sleep, nurse, sleep, nurse- with a few diaper changes in there.  He sleeps really well at night.  So well that I worry about him and wake him up around 3:00 for a feeding.

If he isn't nursing, he is crying.  I'm trying really hard to get him on a pacifier.  I've had two kids love them (IJ and E) and two kids that wouldn't take them at all (S and F).  I prefer pacifiers, especially now since I live in an area where I have to drive a lot.

He goes through a quiet active alert stage once a day, which was when I took these pictures.  He was so happy...for about five minutes.  Then he was crying again.

I always forget how much a newborn likes to be held.  And that they only want Mama and can tell the difference between Mama and Not-Mama.  I'm really looking forward to the end of the newborn stage.

Chicken Run: The Fence is Done!

"I didn't let them out!"

A Chicken's Worst Nightmare

A Chicken's Second Worst Nightmare

This one isn't so bad!

And this is who the chickens love!

They sit on his lap and nibble clover

The King and Princess of the Chickens

Can you spot the predator?

"Why would I want to come in there and hold a chicken?"

What Will She Do Next?

She ate mud:

and then crawled under the truck.

 I wonder what she's going to do today?

Back to Work

M went back to work today.  He never actually left work.  His whole life is work.  Work for the state, work at home, work for the kids, work for me, work for his dad, work building the chicken coop, work, work, work.

I've been lookin' around the house thinking how much I would like to get back to work.  Back to my normal routine.  Back into the swing of things.  I'm driven crazy by the chaos of the five kids, especially F.  She is getting into everything!

M thinks F is the worst two year old we've had.  I think it's just the new house.  Our old split-level house was divided nicely in half.  Everything off limits (chemicals, computers, power tools, Daddy's work things) were stored downstairs, behind the baby gate barrier.  Here there are no gates and no safety latches (well, we now have one gate, but the ashy fireplace and sewing center are on the wrong side).  There we had a fenced yard.  Here we have 15 acres of wilderness.  There we had no senior citizen.  Here we have Grandad.  It's impossible to baby/toddler proof a house and have it be senior citizen friendly at the same time.

Besides disappearing down the driveway and scattering ash on the good carpet, F has been found playing with sharp kitchen knives left on the counter, coloring on and ripping up books, modifying M's spreadsheets on the computer (right before an important meeting), playing with my sewing supplies, kitchen supplies, homeschooling supplies, DVDs, CDs, etc, etc, etc.  Every time we turn around, she is exploring some new item.  In fact, just now, she came up to me with her finger firmly lodged in a marker lid and looking like this:

How the heck am I going to get anything done with her and the new baby?

Like this!  This is my new new sling.  I made it from five yards of fabric, cut in half lengthwise.  Piece of cake.  Baby D loves it and I can do anything while wearing him.  I've changed F's diaper, used the bathroom, done dishes, done a little bit of school with the boys, and now I'm typing using two hands (gasp!).  At first M didn't think this wrap was a good idea.  It might not be safe.  The baby could fall out.  Like I would stand there and let him slip out!  But once he saw how comfy Baby D is and how nicely he sleeps all curled up the way newborns like to sleep, he totally changed his mind.  He now hates Snuggli's and the splayed "Baby Doll" effect.  And this wrap is so versatile.  He can have his head in or out, face forward or backward, sit up or nurse, and keep his legs curled up or stretch them out.  All with one simple piece of fabric and no sewing.

A closer look:

Awwww!  Now where's F and why is it so quiet?  Oh, she's just eating... whew!

Edited later to add a picture of the next long strange silence:

She was eating...and then she wasn't...the joys of the napless two year old...