Moments Like These

So the Thanksgiving didn't quite go as planned at Uncle B's and Aunt K's. The turkey was underdone, the stuffing was overdone, and Plan B had to be activated which was going and buying chicken at Martin's. But all of that doesn't matter.

It's moments like these that make a Thanksgiving meal.
The three kids enthralled with Great Grandma, her stories, and looking through the Christmas catalog she brought with her.

Operation Christmas Child

The kids were so excited to pack up their Operation Christmas Child boxes and send them off. Cuddlebug had been talking for over a week about "her friend" who was going to get her box. They all spent much time picking out the perfect gifts for each of their boxes.
Now we wait to see where each of the boxes final destination will be!

Why?!?!

"Why have they waited so long to give me this delicious thing they call a French Fry?!?!"

Thankful Party and Why I Can't Leave Prince Charming Unattended

So we don't celebrate Halloween and we were so excited when a fellow church family suggested having a "Kick off to Thankfulness" party a few weeks into November. The kids were to dress up in a costume of a Bible or book character. The kids were very excited about this.

B.W. decided to go as David.
Lovebird was his little sheep.
Curly Bear went as the woman who poured perfume on Jesus feet. She really wanted to be a Bible character since the other three were going with that theme and it took us a looonnnnggg time to come up with something.
Cuddlebug wanted to be a rainbow since that is her favorite Bible Story. So we made her into "God's Promises".

Now the days leading up to the party were absolutely crazy busy! I felt like I had about ten huge projects to get done in a few days time. So while I ran to make some copies for the kids folders for the church service I asked Prince Charming if he could fit the rainbow to Cuddlebug and put the ties over the shoulders so it was the right height. I wasn't gone for more than 10 minutes and was texted this picture.
I text him back and tell him I think he needs to loosen it up a little bit.

About 2 minutes later I get a text that says,"Oh shoot, I caught it on fire!"........"You better come home."

Thankfully by the time my few errands were done he had things under control and our little rainbow was running around the house. Now I still have never heard the whole story on how he set the costume on fire. He and the kids have been very tight lipped about the matter. Hmmmmm.......

Too Much Birthday

Well I think this picture doesn't need much explanation. Lovebird was a tad out of the ordinary the day after her big day and pretty much screamed every time I put her down to clean up anything.

The Big First Birthday

Lovebird enjoyed a very relaxing first birthday that included snacking on her favorite snacks, reading books, going for a walk, taking some pictures, and getting to eat her first slice of cheese pizza. We then had a few family members come over for cake and gifts.
The "easy" cake I had planned turned out to be a tad more difficult than expected but the end result was great.
The birthday girl changed into her "cake eating" outfit and was all set. Yes there were a few wardrobe changes throughout the night because mommy couldn't decide on just one outfit. So there was a "Meet my Guests" outfit, a "cake eating" outfit, and then a casual "End the Night" outfit. It did feel a little Academy Award but she was cute in them all.

"Ummmm......why are you setting my cake on fire?"

"Oh dear, now they're singing.....all on different keys."

"Maybe if I clap for them they will stop."

"Oh good, the clapping worked."

Now I wish I could say that she dove in.......but she barely touched the thing. It may have been she was full from her earlier dinner of her first piece of cheese pizza or maybe she just wanted to be a lady and not make a pig of herself but she didn't smear cake everywhere like I was expecting.

I think she was more concerned about getting back to work on her new laptop.

Lovebird is One!!!

Give me an O!

Give me an N!

Give me an E!

Lovebird is one!!!

3:04pm on 11/15/2011: Exactly 1 year old

You Know You're a Homeschool Mom When......

.....you have to reheat your coffee after every three sips because you keep forgetting about it and then you find it the next day in the microwave......beacuse you forgot about it the last time you reheated it.

Our Home: {Why We Choose to Homeschool: The Sibling Factor}

One of the reasons I love homeschooling is the sibling relationships that I see being nurtured. This wasn't an original reason we chose to homeschool but one of those benefits that we've seen before our own eyes. I see this with all the homeschool families around us as well. I'm not saying that if the older kids were not home all the time they wouldn't love their younger siblings but there is a definite difference that happens when the family unit is together all the time. Here are just a few of my observations.

1.)The older ones get to know their younger siblings better because they are not away from them for 6+ hours a day. B.W. is probably Lovebirds favorite person after mommy. And I'm sure that when she is done nursing big brother will slip into that top spot quickly. If B.W. was a little older we know that he could totally handle watching all of his siblings.

2.) Age is not a factor. Whenever I hear the words homeschool kids and unsocialized I always laugh. This has not been our experience at all! I love how our kids will make friends with just about anybody. They can also carry on a conversation with any age including adults. When I've been around kids who are not with their siblings through out the day it appears that age does play a factor. I don't hear my kids say, "That is for babies." or "They are too little to play with." We have had friends over before and have heard this. I loved B.W.'s response. "Well lets play with the little ones for a little bit to make them happy and then we'll play something else." I wondered if as my kids got into those teen years if age might become a factor. By the teens I've seen who are homeschooled it won't be. I love seeing a 6th grader be totally accepted by a 12th grader at co-op. Age is just not a factor. In adult life it's not a factor so why should it be as a kid. You don't ever say, "Sorry, I only have friends who are between the ages of 40 and 45." Well I hope you don't!

3.) They are great friends. Believe me, my kids can definitely get on each others nerves and fight with each other. There are always going to be personality clashes. It's natural. But in the end my kids do love one another and miss each other terribly when someone is missing. They also know that in the end family relationships are the most important. They see Prince Charming and I have close relationships with our siblings as an example. At times when the older ones are fighting with each other I talk about how I have many friendships but with time some of those fizzle out but the ones I know will always be there are the friendships with my sisters and same goes for Prince Charming and his brothers.

Seeing our kids become best friends with their siblings wasn't a reason we chose to homeschool but has definitely now jumped high up on the list of why we continue to choose to.