Hand-iwork

Me time!  It took us two hours to get through chemistry today.  And I am so ready for this steaming hot cuppa coffee and some time on the computer!

Baby D is working on his finger skills.  I was trying to take a cute picture of D here, but F stuck this Flying Disc tag (a relic from S's birthday) in the middle of my picture.  Which turned out to be great because he got right to work on trying to pick it up.

"Is this for ME?  You shouldn't have!"

Even though this kid is way down the line, his little accomplishments are still special and noteworthy.  Yes, I wrote everything down in IJ's baby book.  And a bunch in S's.  A little less in E's.  And almost nothing in F's (where is it anyway?).  And maybe D's name in his.  But their whole lives are right here in the blog, which is so much better!

"Almost got it..."

"Oops, it got away again!"

I've loved watching him develop his concentration and finger skills this last week.  He'll even grab his feet.  I remember when E was a baby going to see the pediatrician.  He asked me what made E different from her older brothers.  I remember looking at him blankly and saying, "Uhhh...She's a girl?"  What he really wanted to me to do was think about how she was a unique individual.  Well duh!

So one thing that stands out and makes D different from the rest of these kids is his willingness to spend time on his tummy.  Tummy Time those "experts" call it.  I've had "experts" tell me that babies need time on their tummies everyday so they can develop those back and neck muscles.  I see Tummy Time mats with engaging brightly colored thingies that stimulate the baby's mind in stores. 

But all you really need is an old tag with WARNING: Choking Hazard printed on it.

First Day of School!

Today is our First Day of School!  Hooray!  I survived Summer Vacation!

This year I have a third grader, a second grader, and a Pre-Kindergartener along with a toddler and infant.  I think this may be my most difficult year yet as far as balancing acts go.

We've had a few practice days so we can figure out what part(s) of my schedule are working or not and how our normal day ebbs and flows.  I've learned that I have to have a rigid timed schedule or nothing gets started.  I only have six minutes left of my lunch break before we move on to my next subject, so I guess details will have to wait until another time.  But I will leave you with this: I love my baby backpack and I'm glad my kids don't argue with me (too much).

My I Love Homeschooling! moment came when IJ and I were reading A Lion to Guard Us this morning.  The girl in the book tells the doctor her father is in Jamestown.  He stops reading, looks up at me, and says, "That's tough!  Jamestown was a hard place to be in colonial times!" 

Bathing babies is not something I like to do.

But we get to the point where is has to be done, especially when we are coming up on a well baby check at the doctor's office.  I do give frequent sponge baths, but water baths at this age are more trouble than they are worth!  Unless you have a camera handy...

"I do not like the water, not one little bit!"

"Don't forget my backside!"

We don't call him Jabba-the-Baby for nothin'

"I hate it when my mom plays dress up with me.  She should just get a baby doll."

Seven

Seven years ago yesterday, we were blessed with the arrival of S.

15 Minutes Old

And now he is seven years old!  S has been, well, something special that's for sure!  He has delighted and challenged me in ways I can barely put into words.  He is the reason we first thought of homeschooling.  He is the person that forces me to think outside my toolbox.  He teaches me patience and kindness and understanding.  S is an awesome kid!

S celebrated his birthday yesterday in true D-family style!  We woke up, ate porridge (a nice break from eggs-which we ate for every meal the day before), and got ready to leave.  S had soccer practice and we needed groceries and stuff from the hardware store.  After running errands we opened presents, baked a cake, worked around the house, barbecued some burgers, ate the cake, and shot off the rest of our fireworks from the 4th of July.  S was pleased with the phone calls from his sister and Nana and super pleased with his new Pokemon cards!

Seven Years Old!

Friday: Fair Day

Today we went to our local fair.  The Scouts started the fair opening with a flag ceremony.  And I was the only leader in uniform!  Luckily I didn't have to haul E through D up with me.

The fair was very small.  I blew $8:50 on dumb games and inflatable slides.  The best part of the fair was free!

Face painting:

Watching fellow Scouts in a pie eating contest:

"Are you sure you don't want to be in the pie eating contest?"
"No Mom!  I just got my face painted!"
"Mom, I'm hungry!"
"You should have been in the pie eating contest!"

And what is a local fair without a petting zoo?

Chickens: What, we don't have enough at home?

Pigs: For sale when big enough to butcher

Goats: "Are these your next venture?"  In three years!

F and the Giant Donkey

Thursday: Ice Skating

Our library gave free ice skating passes to the kids who went to the library five times this summer.  We cashed them in on Thursday, along with a group of homeschoolers.

I left F at home with M so I could enjoy the ice...if I could find someone to hold D for me!

Since we knew so many people there, finding someone was a breeze!  And I got to go ice skating!  One of our little friends was scared to go out on the ice alone, so she became my buddy:

S, the master of balance, was cruising all over the rink and really wants me to sign him up for hockey.  Last time I checked, hockey costs over $1000 per year...not including gear!  And the hockey rink is 1 1/2 hours away.  I'm thinking hockey is not in his future.

Wednesday: Playing at the Park

"Can we go home now?"

Milk Does a Body Good

Hey, Ladies!  Check out these Muscles!

Building Projects

Where have I been?  Going from this:

Rotten Wall Being Removed

To this:

Wall Rebuilt, New Windows Installed

Other building projects have been done by this kid:

I let him invade his dad's scrap pile and nails, and this is what he came up with:

Not So Hard!

This is IJ's fort:

Our contractor was impressed not only with IJ's intelligence ("They talk like adults"), but with his ability to use a fence post driver to drive 1x2's into the ground.

Know how I know summer is almost over?

Apples and Blackberries and Mom-says-it's-time-to-do-schoolwork, Oh My!

Random Dishwashing Thought

I'm supposed to be doing the dishes.  I started to unload the dishwasher and I noticed how wonderfully shiny my dishes are!  And it's all because I'm finally done with that giant bucket of detergent I bought at Cash n Carry back in our old home town over a year ago.  That stuff was awful!  Now I've started using the boxes of store brand dishwasher detergent I bought when the county passed that stupid law about phosphorus.  I bought every. single. box. of 6% phosphorus detergent they had because I knew that when it was gone we would be stuck buying the expensive tablets or that "natural" stuff that doesn't work.

Why was phosphorus banned?  Because the phosphorus-laden waste water ends up in bodies of water because waste water treatment plants cannot remove the phosphorus.  But my house isn't on a sewer line.  I have a septic tank.  And my waste water with the phosphorus goes into my drain field, fertilizing my grass and gardens, not into the bay causing algae blooms.

Here's to another year of dishwashing!  Haha.

Some Faces I Love

The Green Smoothie Face

"It's Good!"

"My older sister looks like this sometimes"

Lock up your sons!

Caught Reading My Little Pony!

Two Peas