My Garden

The garden is finally (almost) done!!!


This has been a project of mine that has taken several weeks to complete. Turns out that Ohio soil is not really conducive to gardening since it is all clay. So even though my plans were always for a raised garden, the plan to dig it out, never really happened. You would have to be Mighty Mouse to get that dirt to budge. Instead we dug our ditch as best we could for the retaining wall stones, and leveled as best we could, and then just put weed blocker down over the rest of the area. We are hoping for the best!

The left side is home to my two favorite flowers from our old home in Houston, lilies and snapdragons. While the lilies will still be a perennial here, the snapdragons will die when winter comes. I also decided to try something new and planted some multi-colored verbena. They are very pretty and have such beautiful color. I will give you some better pictures eventually. Right now everything looks a little droopy due to being freshly transplanted and having lots of wind.

The middle of the garden is our vegetable and fruit section. We have planted tomato plants (both Roma and cherry), peppers, zucchini, cucumber, beans, peas, corn, and strawberries. We are experimenting this year to see what will grow.

The right side is a partial duplicate of the left with lilies, snapdragons and verbena, but also will be home to our watermelons. I am hoping I can train the vines to grow in their designated area and out onto the grass rather than having them attack my flowers. Katie really wanted watermelons though.

Besides our newly built garden we have several other things we are growing. Katie wanted a rose bush in Houston, but we knew we were moving, so I promised her a rose bush when we got our new house. We really don't have a good location for one right now, so we instead bought two miniature roses and put them in pretty pots that can be brought indoors in the winter. She is thrilled with her choices - a bright red and a pretty pink.

I also planted white and pink geraniums in a white wicker hanging planter that I got at Garden Ridge. Now that I am home, I realized there is no overhang on our house to hang it from, so now I will have to go out and look for a shepherd's hook or something to hang it from.And while I didn't plant these, they are really pretty. I have some lavender irises planted by the previous owners that are currently in bloom.

We still have some seedlings in the house to transplant that we have been growing as part of a science and math lesson, but they aren't quite big enough yet. They include our watermelons, as well as some asclepia (better known as butterfly weed), morning glories, and delphinium. Don't know where they will all go yet, but we will find a home somewhere.

Katie and Nick also painted clay pots and planted seeds from Grandma E. in them. Katie has sunflowers and Nick has marigolds. They should have some fun comparing the two pots over time.

Houdini Is At It AGAIN!!

This child will never cease to amaze me.

After the whole climbing out of the crib week, we moved Nicholas into his big boy bed, which has been set up in his room since we bought our house. He is doing Fabulously with it. He even slept all night last night until 8 this morning. He still wakes most nights and comes into our bed, but he just meanders down the hall and wakes me to lift him in. Works out better for me, since he is now the one that has to walk the hall.

But today was a new trick. A totally unpredicted trick. A totally astonishing trick.

You see Nicholas looked like quite the handsome man today. He got his haircut, which in itself made him look too cute for words. But he also was wearing a beautiful blue striped shirt with a pair of khaki shortalls. This particular pair of pants, had the standard overall latches up front, but did NOT and I repeat NOT have snaps along the legs. In order for him to put them on and off, the straps had to be unhooked.

While outside this afternoon, I hear Katie yell, "Nick took his diaper off". And sure enough, when I got to him, he was diaper free, yet somehow magically he had done it while still wearing his overalls. No latches undone! Pants still on! My thought is that he reached down the sides to unfasten the diaper, which then was able to be pulled out through one of the leg holes of his pants.

His ingenuity will never cease to amaze me!

Houdini...Again

Or maybe I should just call him Spiderman.

Nicholas has figured out that he can climb out of his crib. Technically, he has been able to do this for over a year now, but has only done it on 3 or 4 different occasions. Yesterday he climbed out 5 times.

It began at naptime. He had fallen asleep in the car at 11:00 for about 10 minutes. We then had lunch with Daddy and came home for naptime. The brief 10 minute nap through him off. He couldn't fall asleep, and was playing and talking in his crib when I left him. I read to Katie, and left her to take a nap since she has been extra tired lately (I'm thinking growth spurt), and I went to lie in my bed and read. (I have been fighting with bad allergies, asthma, and a cold.)

Several minutes later I hear the pitter patter of little footsteps downstairs. There is Nicholas running around the kitchen table with a big grin on his face. He had climbed out of his bed. I put him back in, but he climbed out a few minutes later again. So I rocked him to sleep.

That night, he again climbed out two more times before finally falling asleep on his own. At 2 A.M. a voice called Mama and came wandering down the hall to our bed.

Seems like it is time for the big boy bed.

I have delayed this day as long as possible. Nicholas has never been a great nighttime sleeper. But lately he has been sleeping all the way through the night at least once a week. I was hoping to have him sleeping through the night, every night, before putting him in his regular bed. It doesn't look like this is going to happen.

I am fairly sure the next several nights will be a challenge as we teach him to stay in his bed, and even more importantly, not to fall out. But what hasn't been a challenge with this 2 year old thus far?

What's Been Hanging Out at Our House

This very cute baby bunny came to visit our front steps a few days ago. He stayed for at least 5 minutes, giving the kids plenty of time to watch him.

Then this little guy, who Katie named Caterpillar, came to spend the night with us in an apple juice container. He is an Eastern Tent Caterpillar, and seems to have many, many, many, many relatives in the area. We are currently plucking them from the garden, off our feet, off our steps, and anywhere else they are found. I am assuming it must be time for him to change into a moth, since from our reading we found they begin to wander away from their tents when it is time to form their chrysalis.

This particular little guy played possum the morning after we kept him, and thinking he was dead, we went to release him out by the trees. The minute he hit the dirt, he started crawling. So the kids happily carted him around the yard to various places until they got busy doing something else.

And this little guy decided that it would be fun to take his little friend for a ride in Katie's Barbie car. So at least one caterpillar out there has felt the cool breeze of driving in a convertible at 5 mph. How many caterpillars can tell their friends about that??

Ice-Cream Happiness

A picture's worth a thousand words.

And a picture of sweetness herself.

Learning the Alphabet

Nicholas has taken an interest in the letters of the alphabet lately. So there are often times that he sees a word on a shirt and points to the letters asking what they are. A few days ago was one such episode.

I was wearing a plain shirt, but it said Old Navy across the top. He pointed to each letter, repeating after me when I named it.

Mommy: N
Nicholas: N
Mommy: A
Nicholas: A
Mommy: V
Nicholas: B (close enough)
Mommy: Y
Nicholas: Cuz

Whenever you ask him the question Why, he always answers 'cuz. Obviously a 2 year old doesn't understand Y as a letter yet.

Dog Fur

Is it possible to just vacuum the dog? Would I be eliminating a step in the daily vacuuming process that seems to be going on these days? Or is that considered animal cruelty of some kind?

A Child MeMe

In other words, not a meme. More of a theythey.

Katie

Age: 5 years 4 months

Favorite colors: Pink

Favorite foods: Anything with sugar. Also ice-cream, pear, strawberries, soup.

Favorite things to do: Play outside and swing. The higher the better. Or when stuck indoors, cartwheel through the living room or color, paint, cut and glue.

Favorite sports: Gymnastics and ballet

Favorite toys: Barbie dolls, cars, and a big yellow bus that she is pretending is the magic school bus.

Favorite TV show: The Magic School Bus

Favorite Movie: The Magic School Bus Creepy Crawly Fun

Favorite Read-Aloud Books: Anything Magic School Bus, Eloise, Capyboppy

Favorite Reading Books: BOB books, Dick and Jane, Sing, Spell, Read, and Write Readers.

Things to Remember: I try very hard at everything I do. From handstands and cartwheels that I have practiced for hours until finally getting it, to my math and reading work. Even though I am technically not old enough for Kindergarten, I have learned to read, count to 100, add, and many other things in our first year of homeschooling. I love to write stories and notes to people. I am creative, and I can be found dancing and singing much of the time. I also love books and reading. I can be a great big sister, when I want to, but sometimes I just have to pick on my baby brother. It comes with the territory.

Nicholas

Age: 2 years 6 months

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Foods: French Fries, fruit snacks, strawberries, cheese, and pretty much anything that passes his way. The boy can EAT!!

Favorite Things To Do: run, jump off the fireplace hearth, play in the sand.

Favorite Sports: Soccer, basketball, baseball, football. Does it involve a ball? Then it's good!

Favorite Toys: Cars, trucks and balls

Favorite TV Show: Dora the Explorer

Favorite Movie: Dora and the Lost City

Favorite Books: Anything Dora, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree, How Many Bugs in a Box, Easter Bugs

Things to Remember: I have a huge vocabulary, and love to talk about anything and everything as I fall asleep. I can be a sweet little cuddly boy one minute, and tackle my sister or parent in the next. I have managed to get into heaps of trouble, but nothing ever too serious. I like to test my limits, and bother my sister, but in the end I love her very much, and we can often be found running through the house racing cars together or just playing chase. I do NOT like to share!

I tag Celeste and Robin

Happy Easter!

Our Easter morning began with a loud 6:30 wake up of "The Easter bunny was here!! There are eggs in my room and on the floor!"

The Easter bunny always leaves a trail from each kid's bed leading them to their Easter basket in the kitchen. Both kids found way too many eggs hidden throughout the house. Some were so well hidden that we are still finding them today.

Nick enjoyed the eating portion of the Easter egg hunt. He quickly decided he didn't want anything to do with his Easter basket, since the only candy in there was a lollipop, and really wanted the plastic eggs he had found.

The kids both got lots of outdoor toys, so hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow and let us spend some time playing in the sand and blowing bubbles.

We finished decorating the Easter/ Spring cookies we had baked the night before. Katie makes an excellent assistant chef. Daddy and I frosted in lovely pastel shades of pink, lime green, lavender, and yellow. Then Katie and Nicholas helped sprinkle.

Nicholas didn't totally get the idea of sprinkling each cookie, so in the end we had one that looked like this:

.

Coloring Easter Eggs

When coloring Easter eggs, wear nothing but a diaper or stay in your jammies all day.

Watch the snow falling gently outdoors.

Admire your hulk-like hands, after you are finished.

Or just smile at your beautiful creations.

Easter Baths

Everyone should be as clean and sparkly as this the night before Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt

The place that the kids have their gymnastics classes had an Easter egg hunt on Friday. The gym was loaded with eggs and after the egg hunt they had open gym for over an hour. The kids had a great time, and I think they enjoyed the open gym far more than the eggs.

Pre-egg hunt preparations

Hopped up on sugar...literally!

Trip to the Zoo

The weather was absolutely gorgeous last weekend, so we took a quick trip to the zoo.

Here are just a few pictures:

Which one is the monkey??

These two??? OR

This one???

I HATE TAXES!!!

I have always happily done our taxes each year, and kind of found them fun to do, especially with the grand inventors of TurboTax.

This year is different.

Not only did Mike change jobs, but we changed states, creating some strange situations. Such as one state that has an income tax and one that does not. As of last night, I had decided that I was finished with our Federal Income Tax and was going to mail it today, and so I did. This morning at 10:30 I sent it on its merry way. Now at 1:30 I have figured out the problem with our state return, which somehow changed the result in our federal return as well, so now I get to play amend the return.

Let's just say it wasn't my fault in the first place. I will place blame on the lovely people/ computers who send out the W-2's with the wrong information on them. Luckily smart people exist in this world, who know how to go online and find the correct version of the w-2 and then fix the return.

ARGH!

A Child's Hands

The weather has been gorgeous. Beautiful sunny days, a bit windy, but still great for going outside to play and watching all our bulbs that we planted in the fall coming up.

The kids have had lots of time playing in the sand table that Nick got for his birthday last October. And since most of the sand has gradually disappeared due to dumping and wind, I even consented this week to add water to the water side so that they could make a good mess.

It is amazing to watch these little hands at work. Katie carefully constructed a volcano complete with lava dripping down. Then she dug a hole through the side and made it a tunnel. Nicholas was content to make small hills for his cars and trucks to drive over, as well as just to mash and scoop and push the sand around. They are getting so big!

The Mud Pit

This is what a 2 year old looks like after playing all day in the backyard on one of the first nice days of Spring. Happily covered in mud and chocolate ice-cream.

Trust me...the 5 year old didn't look much different.

I'm On A Roll

So I may as well keep posting...

Many have posted "Why I Homeschool" topics lately. And while I would love to tell you why I have chosen to temporarily homeschool, I cannot. My reasons are many and varied, and I tend to get a little heated on the topic.

You see, homeschooling is not easy. I will not paint you a glorious picture of a well organized home, where the children sit patiently waiting for lessons.

I will tell you a little about how I have approached the past year of our homeschooling adventure.

I have always been "homeschooling" since Katie was born. I began talking to her in the hospital, reading to her the first week she was home, and singing her songs to relax and entertain her. As she has grown, so has our method of schooling. We have played peek-a-boo, games of I Spy - hunting for colors and shapes. We have read countless books. We have taken field trips to different zoos, parks, museums, and states. A brother was born, who also has taken part in this homeschooling experience.

I have used different curriculum, including your standard workbooks and flashcards.

I have found there are days that we fly through everything I had planned, and days that I can tell she just isn't concentrating at that moment, so we try again later. There are days that little brother wants to be on mommy's lap, and teaching becomes more difficult. There are days that are bright and sunny that beg for us to come out and play, and we do.

I have found the official title of Homeschooling to be just to cumbersome. So I am thinking of changing it to Loving Lifelong Learning (LLL to be short). For isn't this what in essence we are all trying to do? Create a desire in our child from birth to be a lifelong learner. Aren't we teaching from the day they are born in a loving environment? They learn to recognize emotion in our voice, the look of our blurry big faces, what words mean, what the color red looks like, and on and on...

Deciding to officially homeschool doesn't mean much to me anymore. I have been doing it all my life. The title just gets me strange looks from people who don't understand. They think it is a statement against their parenting, the local schools, or a crazy concept that leads to unsocialized children. They think I push too hard when in fact I think the opposite. I don't send my child somewhere to learn for 7 hours a day with a bunch of strangers, and concepts that at times are hard. I do what comes naturally for me and my children. I follow their curiosities, their abilities, and I have the ability to say, Okay this is too hard right now, let's try again another day. I have no standardized test to teach to. My kids love learning, and I love learning with them.

Like I said earlier, don't get me started on this topic...

I haven't even gone into all my reasons for LLL, and already I have ranted too long.

But I will say, I have loved every minute of watching them learn. I fully intend to send them to a traditional school in the future, but even then, I still hope that their father and I are the most important teachers in their lives.

What We Are Reading

James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl

Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt - Joanna Cole

Spot Goes to the Farm - Eric Hill

Easter Bugs - David Carter??

Dora Loves Boots - ???

Thomas Tells a Lie

Overheard While Driving

Katie (talking to herself): (Big sigh) How long does it take for a wish to come true??

Do I dare ask what she wished for??

My First Homeschool Convention

It ended up being an absolutely gorgeous day today. Mostly sunny, in the 70's with a cool breeze. A perfect day to spend outside. And spend it outside, I did, after attending my first and Cincinnati's first Homeschool Convention.

While, I didn't go to any of the lectures, I did manage to meander my way through the 2 exhibit halls of vendors. I had already received in the mail, the new Sonlight and Alpha Omega catalogs, and I had already gone through the Rainbow Resource catalog, so it was great to see all the products and page through them. Plus they had a lot of discounted items, and some other curriculum providers that I hadn't heard of before, that I found had some neat stuff. I did lots of browsing, and very minimal buying. I came with list in hand, and pen for writing, and I highly recommend both. I knew what I wanted to look at primarily, and then made notes of other items that I liked, but knew I could get for cheaper prices at Rainbow Resources online.

I ended up getting 2 books for Katie that were deeply discounted. Germs Make Me Sick, which is a Let's Read and Find Out Science Book, and The Big Balloon Race, which is just an easy reader that I thought she would enjoy.

I also got this very cute book called, God and Me 2 Devotional Series for Girls 2 - 5. It has a short story a day that teaches a simple social skills lesson essentially, and then a couple questions, plus a second page that gives some kind of activity to go with it. They also had a book for girls 6 to 9, and one for 10 to 13 or something like that. I thought the 2 to 5 year old one really fit better for an older 3 year old to even a 6 year old. The 6 to 9 year old version was more bible oriented. I think Katie will really enjoy it.

I looked at the various math programs and have decided that we will most likely use Horizons 1. I also liked the A Beka Math surprisingly, since most of A Beka's curriculum is very workbooky (is that a word), and trendy in my opinion. All the other math programs were very number fact oriented, and boring, including the highly acclaimed Saxon and MCP.

I also liked the Alpha Omega Horizons Phonics Readers. I don't know that I will buy them, since I already have some others, but for those of you who may consider them, I highly recommend taking a peek to see where your child may be at. I thought that the Kindergarten readers were more appropriate to 1st grade, at least early 1st grade. So even though our curriculum will be mostly 1st grade, it just goes to show you need to look carefully when combining different publishers.

Evan-Moor makes a series of Science teachers books that I like. Each one is a thematic series on things like weather, the human body, animals, etc.

I also liked Usborne's First Encyclopedia of the Human Body.

There were several other things that I put on my list of items to consider, but I think these were the main points. It was definately an interesting experience, and a crowded one at that. It was also fairly interesting to see so many Amish people mainly working as vendors, but also doing some shopping. I forget that we are so close to a large settlement of Amish people, we so rarely see them.

Hope this gives all you homeschoolers some ideas and information, and that you in turn will pass on your "finds".

I Am Truly A Bad Parent

A very large spider was walking across the kitchen ceiling.

Both kids saw the spider, and wanted it gone.

I finally got up the nerve to get a kitchen chair and a large book and attempt to kill it.

I hit it with the first shot, but with the textured ceilings, didn't quite kill it, and it dropped down on a line about 10 inches, at which point I panicked and swatted it with the book and then threw the book down.

The kids kept asking where the spider went, and honestly I don't know. But rather than telling them it was dead and gone. I decided it was more fun to say it was crawling across the floor to get them. After all, I have had one less than delightful child today. So for now, I have two kids creeping around, watching for the infamous spider, and pretending they are killing it with books too. At least, Katie seemed to understand I was joking.

Kids Have Bad Days Too

Nicholas has been in an atrocious mood all day today. From the moment he woke up until even after his nap, he has been whiny and clingy and complaining about everything.

He wanted water with ice. I gave it to him, and got back an emphatic "NO, ICE".

We went to a neighbors to play where he spent most of the time lounging on my lap, unwilling to play by himself or with others. Instead he wanted food and home. So we finally left.

He woke from his nap, complaining and fighting with his sister.

I finally came to the realization that kids can have bad days just like us, and this must just be one for him.

It is rainy and yucky outside. I think he is getting his last 2 year old molar. And I know that I have a headache, so maybe he feels crummy too.

So we turned on Dora, and we were all rewarded later with lollipops. Katie for completing her work quickly and correctly. Nicholas for stopping his complaining temporarily. And mommy for managing not to yell and scream and threaten the children.

A Ban On Jumping

At least on other living things that is...

About 3 months ago, Nicholas jumped on the side of my foot while I was cleaning out our built-in shelves. It was quite painful and I lived with it until this Monday, when I decided this really was ridiculous. After seeing the doctor, who was quite certain it was broken, I had an x-ray and today found out it is not broken. I repeat - NOT broken! Good news and bad. Great it isn't broken, but why does it still hurt in the same spot. Is it just badly bruised and keeps getting reinjured by the constant stepping of little feet or is there something more wrong. So for now I am supposed to wait another week or 2, like after 3 months that will make a difference, and try some anti-inflammatory.

Then 3 weeks ago, Nicholas jumped off our fireplace hearth and landed on the dog, who jumped up also. He then spent the next two days limping around. Nothing funnier than a 2 year old with a peg leg. He got his x-ray, which showed just a very mild sprain, and 5 days later was good as new. Of course, when you are two, you heal faster, and don't seem to mind continuing to jump on the hurt foot. It does slow down your running though.

Now, several days ago, Katie came upstairs from the basement, where I believe she had been jumping on the mini trampoline with her brother. She had a huge black eye, and claimed not to know what happened. It is currently a lovely shade of green, but is getting better.

Am I doomed to constant injury with the mini-monster?? Should I propose a ban on all jumping while within 5 feet of another human or animal? Should I ban all jumping from now on??

My solution for now: Allow all the jumping one can stand, but be sure to stand back. You never know when the young parachuter might land on you next.

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Belated

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. And while I knew this, I was too sick to do anything with the kids. It was just allergies, sore throat, runny nose, but I still wasn't up for much of anything.

Today I feel quite a bit better, and having promised Katie we would do something for St. Patrick's Day on Sunday, we spent the early morning making Shamrock crowns. While Katie is proud to model the one she made, Nicholas decided crowns were fun for making but not for wearing.

I also made cupcakes with green sprinkles earlier in the week, so the kids at least had a special treat.

And Daddy was kind enough to read two books about the holiday to Katie last night.

Nicholas vs. The Sweater

Grandma E. made Nicholas a lovely blue sweater some time ago. It came with a hat and mittens, and is nice and soft and warm.

Grandma wanted a picture of Nicholas in said sweater, but to understand the following pictures, you must first understand Nicholas.

Nicholas does not believe in clothing. If given the opportunity he will take off all clothing including his diaper, and run through the house. He protests getting his jammies off in the morning, and then 3 seconds later protests getting clothes back on, even if it is the same jammies. He gets along fabulously with our 2 year old female neighbor who also has the same theory in clothing. "It is meant to be taken off!" Luckily she leaves her diaper on though.

So here is a story in pictures of my boy and his sweater picture session:

A Nice Compliment

It isn't very often that we hear compliments of our children's behavior when out in public. At least not from someone that isn't family. So last night when we were out eating pizza at a local restaurant, it was nice to hear the waitress say as she came to take our bill, "Your children are very well behaved."

Mike and I exchanged looks and told her thank you, but it really is true. For 2 and 5 they are usually well-behaved and polite. They say please and thank you without prompting, and sit relatively still and quiet during meals. Of course a lot of it has to do with us keeping them actively engaged in other things while waiting. The compliment also happened to come while the kids each had a mint in their mouth.

As we got up to leave, two children left the restaurant happily by climbing under the table, but other than that, there were no major behavior issues. And Nicholas at the ripe old age of 2 told the young high school girl who held the door for us, "Thank you girl."

The Magic School Bus

Katie is hooked on the Magic School Bus. It started with the books. I got her a dinosaur and solar system one at Half-Price Books. They were only 75 cents with our coupon, and she was in a dinosaur phase. She fell in love! We have now borrowed every available copy from the library, and half bought several more at the bookstore. We found the show is on TLC and Discovery Kids in the morning, so she usually watches an episode at 7:30 or 8:30 in the morning. She has taken to sleeping with her brother's toy bus. And Grandpa made the kids this cool school bus, while he was visiting recently.

I am most delighted with the amount of information that she is absorbing. She has always been a bookworm, and I have tried to implement a science and social studies curriculum that uses books with projects and other lessons to learn. She loves listening to stories. Even Daddy is impressed. How many 5 year olds can talk about echolocation, the blood stream, and butterfly camouflage all in the same day. Sometimes all in the same hour.

For those of you using or planning unit studies, make sure you check out these great books.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has at least temporarily arrived!

The past few days have been gorgeous, and today is especially beautiful. Sunny and warm, so we are planning to go outside and enjoy the rest of the day.

The kids have been busy swinging, playing in the sand, digging in the dirt, and riding bikes and cars. Good News: Nicholas no longer screams in terror when any of the numerous children come riding by in their motorized cars. Bad News: He now likes riding and driving them. Which means I have a 2 year old behind the wheel. Which means my trees, bushes, sprouting tulips, and anything else that happens to get in the way are taking a beating.

My Daughter the Gymnast

Since I didn't want to disturb class, this was the best photo I could get of Katie doing her handstand. She is becoming quite talented. Besides this gorgeous handstand, which her teacher frequently has her demonstrate for the other kids in the class (Yes, I am proud), she finally has the cartwheel down.

I love watching her practice. She has so much fun, and has more energy than I could possibly even imagine. Today I watched her as she vaulted doing a handstand and a somersault, and thought to myself- WOW, and she is only 5!! Even though she is the youngest and smallest in her class, she makes me proud.