Pieces of Us

The box

    We have never set out to be a non-tv watching family.  We have a couple of tv's and we watch movies and occasional tv shows.  It's not a priority but there are times when it's nice to sit and veg out. However, as time moves on a lot of us have without intention almost stopped watching any tv.  Maddy and Gabby are probably the two who watch the least and will go days without watching anything. What I noticed from this is an intense amount of creativity sparked in them. I've shared a lot of Maddy's recent work and Gabby is no slouch in the art area either.  Both girls are most often found in their room, listening to music and either sewing costumes or drawing.  I love how much they have learned about art, photography and design just by dedicating their free time to something other than tv.

Typical Day

I have had the request several times to lay out an average day in our homeschool/life. I can honestly say that with homeschooling there is NO typical day but I can outline about how our day works most of the time.  However, your day will vary depending on the ages and grades of the children in your home.

8:00am- Generally I get up. Sometimes this can stretch to 8:30.  I am not a morning person.

8-9am- Generally I do all my email checking or blogging or whatnot while I drink coffee.  My kids get their own breakfast.  They always have.  Even Jillian.  She likes her independence and will make peanut butter bread or waffles or cereal.

9:30- Usually we start work around 9:30.  However, I mean this is when I am available to work with them. Some of my kids are very self motivated to get their independent work done early and will set alars for 6 or 7. They will do their math assignment (lecture and lesson are on the computer) and generally spelling or cursive (for the middle kids).  Gabby will often do her history reading and notes. Maddy sleeps.

10:30-Around this time the kids will be finishing their independent work.  Sometimes they will need help or I will administer a spelling test or something of the sort.  After that I do grammar and writing lessons with Ginny and AJ. I also have Caleb sitting down working on his math, phonics and handwriting.  If Jess is here she usually works on reading or math with Caleb and Jilly while I am with the middles.

Noon- We have lunch.  Kids still make their own normally. Big kids help little kids.  Sometimes I make lunch,

12:30- A few days a week I do science with the kids.  This month there is a lot of science because we are preparing for science fair.  Other times the kids silent read. By 1:00 the younger ones are often done. Sometimes they are done by 11:00 but that is if they did some of their work at 6 or 7.

1:00pm- The elder girls are still working at this point.  Usually a writing assignment or on their history notes or health.  They are self motivated most of the time so I just check over their work and do oral quizzes for history, literature and bible.

Evening: Elder girls study for tests, sometimes get a jump on the next days work, write papers or just work on art.  We read (when I get my act together) aloud as a family around 7:30 or 8.

I probably missed some stuff because I am pulling this all off the top of my head.  As far as planning goes I plan all year.  I generally have some sort of idea what I am going to use for curriculum the next year but it will always change, sometimes even mid-year.  If we hate something we switch. I do big planning around February.  Budget is something that changes from family to family. In general I probably spend the most on math. About $400 for 5 students. But that is so I can use self graded computer programs.  It frees me up from having to watch all the lectures and relearn everything. Although I am kind of auditing College Algebra this year so I can brush up and be a better teacher for the girls. For the older girls we use a history/bible/literature program.  I probably spent about $450 on those types of programs this year.  Spelling/grammar/handwriting I spent about $300. Health was $60 but I bought it used.  I try to buy used as much as possible. Science I spent about $200. 

Here is a link to the post with all the curriculum we bought this year.

I like to keep my budget around $1500.  That is for 5 kids and of course doesn't always stick but I do my best.  Information overload is inevitable. But it's best to know what your goals are, what you think is most important for your child to learn and wht you'd rather them not learn.

 

That's about it!

Bloggity Blog I miss you!

I have been scarce.  I'm sure people keep popping by to see what we're up to only to be greeted by the same old post. I apologize.  Life gets in the way.

What's on the schedule for now...

• Disneyland.  We've been there a LOT lately. And going again in mid February.
• Science Fair- It's coming soon and we have lots of projects!
• New Play 'Guides'.  Both girls have parts and I am Assistant Director so that means BUSY BUSY.
• School as usual
• Piano as usual
• Baby Shower coming up for my new niece or nephew (I think nephew!)
• Niece or Nephew coming in a little over a month!
• Mom's birthday at my house on Friday.

I'm sure there is lots more but it's early and I am tired! All in all though, I love my life.  It's full of joy and love. I am blessed.

The Letter

   

    I walked into my room the other day to find a letter on my pillow.  I picked it up and looked at the colorful writing on the envelope.  My name artfully scrawled all over it. I was intrigued.  Who wouldn't be?

    The letter opened with a very typical, brown-nosing.

Dear ever-so- powerful and awesome mom,

     I knew this was going to be good and I wondered to myself what my two, clever, crafty teens were after. As I read down the letter I became increasingly impressed with the business-like manner in which the letter was written and the extreme attention to detail the two of them had gone to in order to hopefully be granted their request.  Below is a picture of the letter followed by a transcription.

 

Dear ever so powerful and awesome mom,

We (Maddy and Gabby) have been thinking a lot about summer lately; even though it is around five months away we end up talking about it. We were quite disappointed when you said we would not be able to go to camp this year, but we understand your decision and respect it. Maddy and I have found something else to go to- which is fun but less cost than a camp. It is called the Anime Expo in Los Angeles, June 26-July 3rd (or 2nd).

Katelyn and her mom told us about it and have agreed to drive us there if we go.  We hope to go 2 days, for it is what Mrs. Fiers was planning. It does cost money but Maddy and I are paying for our own tickets. We will be there most of the day so Maddy and I will pack our Bento Boxes for lunch.

I will be carrying my cellphone so as to be able to keep in touch with you. If you decide to let us go, one of the days you are there you can use these FREE LA ZOO tickets, so you can be in the area. You can have fun with one of the little kids while being close to us at the same time.

Mrs. Fiers will be with us the whole time. I will be texting you my blood sugars and anything else I need to tell you throughout the day. We each would be buying a two day ticket, so you wouldn't have to pay anything, including food and drinks.  We are paying for everything. 

We have looked into this a lot, and are very excited. We've put a lot of research into this to make sure everything would be in order. We really hope that you let us go and we love you very, very much!

XXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOO

Maddy and Gabby

                                                                                                     INFO

                                                                                                    Price: $50-65

                                                                                                    Zoo Tickets: Good for two people

                                                                                                    Times: Yet to be determined

                                                                                                    Website: http://www.anime-expo.org

                                                                                                    Location: L.A Convention Center

 

 

    How could anyone say no to all that planning and research.  It looks like they have done their job well.  I have two very excited girls who will be going to A-Ex and maybe meeting some of their Cosplay idols.  I don't even really know what that means but I do know that it will further their artictic talents. I'm so proud of my girls. 

 

The Post with all the Pictures

    This is the post where I suck you in to life around our house over the past month. I take so many pictures with my trusty phone and then forget to share them.  So take a glimpse into the more random parts of our lives.

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Morning Science Experiments: Jillian says, "Wear your safety goggles!"

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This is what my teenagers look like when they go shopping around town. Honk and wave if you see them.

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This is what the littlest sister looks like when she is trying to be just like her big sisters.

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This  is what a typical rowdy playtime looks like at our house. DOGPILE!

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This is what Jillian looked like on Christmas Eve just as guests started to arrive for our celebration.

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These are the ingredients I used to make all my Christmas goodies!

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This is the fireplace heater I got for Christmas.  It resides in my room where I can blog and be nice and toasty.

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This is the beautiful Gabriella in her shirt from Secret Santa.  Her Secret Santa was Genevieve.

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This is the fabulous Madeline in her Christmas coat and scarf/hood combination.

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This is the stack of games the kids got for Christmas this year.  Lots of fun for all!

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This is a house that Caleb built with his new Lego set from Jessica.

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These are the matching shirts that Maddy and Gabby bought at Aeropostale for $5.  Don't they look adorable?

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This is how Jilly fell asleep the other night.

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This is Jillian's hair after her first haircut.  Her hair was waist length but scraggly on the ends.  I miss her natural shaping but she needed the cut.

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This is how I have been braiding Ginny's hair.  It's a little dark but hopefully you can see the curved french braids.

Some Christmas Highlights

Since I never did post any Christmas pics.  Here are some highlights.  There is also a video floating around of the Christmas Eve Variety Show. 

Gabby with her Miku doll.

Maddy with her Rin doll.

Ginny got some earrings from Santa.

Jilly is excited to get some Olivia underwear!

AJ with some sort of multi-purpose eating utensil of which I have no knowledge about.

Caleb's favorite gift was a little camera from mom. :)

Our two handsome boys in their new clothes. Don't they look so happy?

Our gorgeous teens.  Also looking happy!

 

We can't all look happy.  But the shirt is so cute.

Maddy makes her "What's in this package?" face.

Ginny approves of her new jacket and bears a striking resemblance to Richard Nixon. Yikes.

Nothing much cuter than a little one ripping open a Christmas package. :)

INVASION OF THE MADDY!

Ello, this is Maddy. I am invading this blog for uno posto, so I'll be gone after this. Probably.

Anyway, Mom has been blogging about my video (Which I'm SOO GLAD how it came out) and keeps saying "I NEED TO GET THE EXCERPT!'

Well, she didn't say it in capitals, but whatever. ;)

So here is part of my story. I haven't worked on it in a while, so this is all you're gonna get for now.  ;) Enjoy!

~ Maddy

 

Half Taken (Excerpt)

In the kingdom of Manastar, a young boy of thirteen ran quickly though the hallways. He burst through a doorway and skidded to a halt. “Father! I-“

“Patience, my young son.” A man stood at the window, gazing sorrowfully at the sea. He was a little over thirty, bud gray had already appeared in his black hair, more salt than pepper. After waiting a moment, he gave a small sigh and turned to his son. “What is it, Raxka?”

Raxka brushed a white lock out of his face. His hair always got in the way, especially the black bang. “Well, last night I had a dream.”

“Oh?” The other man raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you say so at breakfast?”

“I just remembered it right now, and it’s really strange.” Raxka said quietly. “I was walking along the ocean shore, and I saw a boy like me. I would of said that we were twins, but his hair was flipped. It was black one white part. I tried to talk to him, but he just stood there. Then he swung his axe at me and I woke up.” Raxka waited for a reaction.

His father turned back to the window. “Probably just a strange dream. Go back to your studies.”

Raxka nodded and left, another man walked in, hurriedly closing the door behind him. “King Rangbur.” He gave an impatient bow to the man at the window.

Rangbur gave a curt nod. “Lord Rode.”

Rode rushed to the king in anger. “You haven’t told him!?” He said in a furious whisper. “You haven’t told your own son that he had a twin brother?!”

“Had.” Rangbur echoed sadly and looked out the window. “If I told him what happened he would never forgive me. It’s my fault that I took him out to sea that day!”

“No, it isn’t.” Rode said, his voice softening. “You wouldn’t of known that you were going to be attacked by pirates.”

“But it was I who chose my battle ax over him! And in the end they got that too, so what was the point?” Rangbur held his head in his hands. “I can still hear his voice screaming- and then nothing.”

There was silence and Rode put a hand on the king’s shoulder. “You have to remember you still have one more son. All of the love you felt for him should fall on Raxka.”

Rangbur sighed. “You’re right.  Thanks for the advice. You’re a good friend.”

“You’re welcome, sire. I’ll think I’ll stop by the kitchens for some ale, care to join me?”
As the men walked down the hall they neglected to notice an oddly shaped lump behind a tapestry. When they were out of sight, Raxka came out of his hiding place and sunk to the floor.

He had a brother! The thought  filled Raxka with a bittersweet feeling. Happy that he had a brother and sad that he was dead.

The fact that he had a twin brother answered one of Raxka’s most curious questions- how he had gotten white hair.

Raxka remembered reading somewhere about wizards who could cast a spell to give twins a different distinct feature to help their parents tell them apart. That’s what probably happened- they both had black hair and after the spell was cast, Raxka had white hair with one black lock. That would mean his brother would have had black hair with one black lock.

Just like the boy in his dream.

Raxka suddenly sat up, a thought suddenly occurring in his head. What if his brother wasn’t dead?
That had to be it! He was probably knocked out when he was captured, and Raxka would find him- somehow. Raxka could feel it.

His brother, his very own twin brother, was captured. Tomorrow, Raxka would sneak away and find him- to set him free.

*******

Princess Velda was the daughter of King Ainrof, who ruled the island city of Valsan, in the middle of the Balso Sea. All people who first met her thought she was pleasant. Perhaps it was her hair that she bleached silver, or her accent that she faked and the servants made fun of, or maybe it was her gracefulness.

But once they were out of sight, Velda turned to her true personality. She was cruel, and most of the time she spend either afflicting it on slaves or practicing in the armory. When she was bored, she handpicked a slave to be her personal servant, and at the end of the month, if they passed her exemptions, they would life. So far, none had passed.

But of course, no one knew that.

There was one, however, an old slave that they called Dogeye, because of his droopy and sunken blind eyes. No one dared to talk to him, as he muttered to himself and shouted in sudden outbursts, and they thought he was quite mad.

Only one slave could talk to him, and that was a thirteen year old boy named Karax.

Nine years ago, some pirates sailed in and sold a five year old boy for some gold coins. Once the other slaves saw that he was small and from across the sea, they knew that he wouldn’t last the month. Slaves that were not born in Valsan or the other surrounding islands never lasted, they said.

Karax proved them wrong. Not only did he survive, but he also managed to pull off so many pranks without getting caught that some of the slaves respected him. He would have been popular with the slaves his age, but he preferred to be by himself or with Dogeye.

“Why does the princess always get so much vegetable guts on the floor?” Karax asked one day as he and Dogeye mopped the training room. “It’s a mess!”

“Be thankful that it’s not your guts.” Dogeye replied, doing a pretty good job of mopping for a blind person.

“Hey, she hasn’t done any think to us yet.” Karax pointed out. “Only to pumpkins.”

“You know she sometimes choses personal servant?” Dogeye asked.

Karax thought for a moment. “That’s right, she does. Often, actually.”

Dogeye twirled his mop. “Well, they never come back.”

The thirteen year old slave was about to reply when Princess Velda herself walked in. “Zlaves, zet up!” She commanded and pointed to Karax. “You vill hand me ze weaponz.”

Karax nodded and walked over to the weapon rack as Dogeye set up some watermelons.

“Axe.” Velda held out her hand and tossed her head.

That’s new. Karax thought as he went through the racks. She’s never asked for an axe before. He finally found it, almost as tall as him and the head was made of a light, silver metal. The handle was strong dark ashwood and there was red velvet for where your hand gripped it.

This is my father’s axe. Karax thought and an image of a boy with white hair with a black lock flashed through his mind.

“ZLAVE!” Velda snapped her fingers “ ‘Urry up!”

Karax shook his head and handed her the weapon. Who was that boy and who was his father? He pondered this as he watched Princess Velda practice. She wasn’t built for the axe, he could tell. She was holding it wrong and was unbalanced. She should stick to rapiers-

“Hey! Zlave!” Velda’s shrill voice interrupted his thoughts. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Um, well…..” Karax stammered, noticing she was losing her accent.

“Spit it out!” She demanded.

“You’re stance is wrong and you’re unbalance.” Karax said quickly. He could feel her piercing gaze sweep over him, inspecting his gold eyes and black hair with one white lock.

To his surprise, she smiled. “You’re the first to be truthful to me. Therefore, you shall be my personal servant.”

Once hearing those words, Karax drifted into a panic. His kept a straight face, as experience taught him and remembered what Dogeye said about the slaves that were Princess Velda’s personal servants. The ones that were never seen again.

 

 

Happy New Year!

    I looked over my blog post from last year about resolutions.  We all know that sticking to them is very hard for me. I thought I'd recap a little to see if I actually accomplished anything that I set out to do. It's been a crazy year that's for sure and I did not meet my reading goal but I gained so much from all of the other things that took my time away from books.  Goals are wonderful but if they are unflexible we don't allow for anything else to present itself to our lives and enrich it.  So here goes...

* Continue with our cash only system. I have loved cash only way more than I thought I ever would.  We started it last November and it has been completely freeing.

How did this work out?  We're still doing cash only.  Not as well as I would LIKE to.  ANd I have used my credit cards this year.  I really want to work on that for 2012.  I guess I can't say we did cash ONLY but we do use cash for the most part for our purchases.

* Continue to live on less. We have alotted a large chunk to debt each month and lived on the rest.  I'd like to continue putting that chunk away every month and still live on the budget we have been on.

Blah. Nope.  This has to change this year. I am still putting a large chunk on debt every month but life has gotten in the way at times and so the debt is still there.  Work on this.

* Read a book a week (or 52 books) in a year.

I think I got to 28 or something.  Maybe less.  It's in the sidebar.

*Continue reading Lamplighter books to the kids at night, this has been so great for us.

This is getting a little depressing!  I didn't read to them as much as I'd like.  This will be starting up again for sure.

*Teach the younger kids to cook and help the older kids make more meals.  They love doing it and teaching them the basics is helpful to them.

Finally a WIN!  I did a ton of cooking with all the kids and they are all self sufficient and amazing in the kitchen.

* Keep up on my blog and photography (and also scrapbooking!)

WIN again!  There have been lulls for sure but I have kept the blog rolling and even had my most hits ever in one day thanks to Pinterest.  I did not do enough Scrapbooking.  Going to work on that this year.

*Keep up on grading schoolwork and recording grades.

WIN!  I have done a good job of grading and scoring with Homeschool Tracker this year.  

* Pay off debt completely.

Ew.  I don't even want to go there right now.

 

Ok so what is new for 2012?

* Lose 15 lbs OR just go down 2 sizes.  After the great fankle debacle I was laid up and couldn't excersize for two months.  Completely threw off my groove and I put on weight.  I don't feel as good as I did when I was more fit so it's back to work.  I'm tired of being neither fit nor fat.

*Eat better!  Cutting back on the soda and treats and working towards healthier eating habits.

*Drink more water.  This one comes up a lot.  It's really hard for me.  32oz a day.  I know it sounds like a little bit but for me it might as well be 5 gallons.

*Do yoga and Just Dance.  Gotta keep moving!  And it's fun to do as a family.

*Spend more quality time with my family. Not just qunatity time which we have a lot of but focused family time.  I want to plan more day trips to go on together.

*Keep focused on the kids school and try to get a little more involved with TPCS so the kids can make some new friends.

* Stay in touch with my friends.  Get together and have a good time frequently.

Well that's it for now.  I may update more.

 

Another Proud Mom Moment

    I've talked before about my kids and their love for writing novels.  The two eldest girls have written novels the past two years and even Ginny got in on the novel writing action this year. Madeline is an exceptionally gifted writer.  Her writing is riveting, descriptive and the plots are well fleshed out.

    Recently she began work on an outline and storyboard for a new novel.  I love her concept although it is not a completely new idea, her spin on it is really interesting. I will try and post her excerpt on here soon.  In the meantime I am sharing her book trailer. Another area she is excelling in is computers, graphics and video editing.  She made this and shared it at our family variety/talent show on Christmas Eve.  We were all stunned by her work.  She designed and edited the trailer completely herself as well as draw all the artwork.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Keywords

I love Google Analytics.  It's a lot of fun to see what google searches bring people to this blog.  For instance these examples.

 

1. homeschooled kids are weird

Yep, pretty much can't argue with this one.  Homeschooling moms are weird too.

2. belly huge dinner

Not too uncommon around here.  We all sport the food baby after a good meal.

3. best way to serve individual jello

My guess is the best way to serve anything individual.  In it's own bowl.

4.big group of kids

Check!

5. chub boys

They used to be chub until they got big and lost all their babyness and chubby cheeks and little squishy arms and baby manboobs. *sniff*

6. elf on a shelf don't like

Me no like either.

7. hobie carmichael

Who?  What?

8. kids open presents and its over too quick

Ah yes...the age old dilemma.  It's always over too quick.

9. my kids enjoying interacting with kids

Kids do enjoy interacting with kids.  They call them friends.

10. seductive christmas songs

Ooh la la.  Sing it with me... I saw mommmy kissing SANTA CLAUS...

11. ирландский танец

Umm yeah...sure.. me too!

Piano Recital Day

    Today Ginny and Gabby had their first piano recital.  Now I am not one of those biased moms that thinks their child is magnificent no matter what.  I see my kids faults and I hear their mistakes.  But today I was amazed at the skill they both demonstrated in their performances.  Ginny is one of those kids that takes a lot of prodding to practice but a few weeks ago she just committed to practicing without being told and she has progressed so far.

    Gabby brought tears to my eyes which is no small feat.  She played near flawlessly and the songs were timed so well.  She has blossomed and I think has the talent to be a very good musician.

Caleb TimeLine

Remember this?  

 

And then on December 12, 2005 I went out for a nice big Prime Rib dinner while I was in active labor? I've always been a little nuts! After a few hours of labor and zero pain meds. He was here.

And Gabby helped me through the whole ordeal with that big grin on her face the entire time and I was so so tired.

And Ginny became a big sister but look, just look, how little she was!

And he was just growing and growing every day.

And what's with that big ol noggin' anyway?

His chub became legendary...

The baby started to grow into a little man.

He was a total little hipster.

He turned one, much to my chagrin.

His chub was still legendary...

Did I mention his chub?

But who could resist this little rockstar?

Oh and his chub? Legendary.

He grew some more. And wouldn't stop it.

I tried to convince him to stay 'yittle'.

But he wasn't going to be the baby anymore.

He tested his toddler limits.

 

Again and again and again.

And he kept on growing.

And the chub...was not so legendary anymore.

Where had my baby gone?

Who was this new little man?

And who the heck was THIS little man?

With a new baby in town, Caleb stepped into his new role as big brother.

While still enjoying his role as little brother too.

Because he was still my baby too.

Even if he was just so big.

Stop growing little boy, Stop!

 

Little Baby Man where are you?

Who is this dude? K-Bob?

Little baby who clings to mama is gone. In his place is this daredevil child.

So handsome and not chub.

Oh my little man, look at you now!

How handsome you've grown.

And how proud we are of you, for all you've become so far.

SIX!

    Yesterday my baby boy turned 6.  Her may not be the baby of the family but he is still my babyist boy. To top it off he lost a front tooth at the end of the day making his babyish face suddenly look years older.

    We took our wee little big boy to Disneyland for his first time ever and we braved the cold and rain all day, sloshing down mainstreet and all the lands in our wet socks but loving it just the same.

 

We started off with delicious Chocolate croissants. YUMMY!

The two birthdays boys!

Heading to It's a Small World.  It's different at Christmastime.  All decorated and medleys of the original song plus Christmas tunes.  I LOVED it.  This was our first time at Disney at Christmastime.

]

Hot chocolate and popcorn helped to keep us warm. :)

Me and my big boy.

Poor little wet feet,  but he wouldn't even complain so we'd know they were wet. He was having too much fun.  He went on every big ride at Disneyland, even the ones that were scary to him.

Look! I'm wearing a hat!  Jess and I were getting really wet hair which is no bueno so we bought hats.  I actually don't mind the way I look in it for once!

We baptized Caleb by fire by putting him on Space Mountain first. Poor baby, he cried and cried after and said it was "The worst ride of my YIFE!" Until much later when he realized he had bragging rights now. He also wanted to go on Indiana Jones so badly so we took him on that which also scared him a lot.  But even still, he went on them and never chickened out. He absolutely loved the Matterhorn and the Haunted Mansion which is all tricked out for Christmas and not near as spooky as the normal one.  I likes it much better at Christmas. Pirates was also a big favorite as well as Buzz Lightyear.

I think it was a very memorable trip for him, not just because of the rain but that certainly helped.  Now if only we hadn't had a  2.5 hour there and a 3 hour drive back. YIKES!

Busy Time

We are officially in Busy Time around here.  Blogging is scarce because time will start to be scarce.  Thankfully my Christmas shopping is all done. :)  

Craziness ensues starting now.

Tonight: Youth Group

Friday: Keepers of the Faith Christmas Party

Saturday:Laura's Christmas Party for girls

Sunday:Church/ Dad's Birthday Dinner

Monday: School/Caleb goes to Disneyland

Tuesday: Caleb's 6th Birthday!

Wednesday: Youth Group Christmas Party

18th: Mike's Birthday

19th: Tamale Party

21st: North Pole Express

24th: Christmas Eve 

25th: Christmas

 

It's all gonna blaze by as usual with more things added in I am sure. Oddly I am not looking forward to breaking from school as much as I thought I would. We'll see how I feel when we get there.

Pranksters

There is no doubt that Maddy and Gabby get their sense of humor from their mom. *wink wink*. I caught them recently in the middle of one of their signature pranks. 

We had to stop by Staples the other night and I can't resist spending time browsing at office supply stores.  They're my weakness what can I say? I could hear both girls giggling from wherever I was in the store and went to investigate.

Yep, those are my kids leaving little notes all over the laptops. Generally they are signed, The Banana. Those girls crack me up.  They love a good joke.

Magical

    The christmas decor is up for the most part and the excitement of Christmas is radiating off of the little ones. While all the kids are excited it's a different kind of excitement depending on the age of each kid. Jillian is exceptionally cute this year.  We pulled out the tree and as soon as we started putting it up she was belting out 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town.'  I forgot how much fun 3 year olds are at Christmas time.

    As we pulled out the ornaments Jillian kept asking, "Is this one mine? Is this one mine?"  A short trip to the bathroom meant that I returned to a tree with ornaments all at 3 year old eye level. This morning Jilland Caleb were sitting under the tree discussing which ornaments were most beautiful and Caleb had on a Santa hat. I truly love this time of year.

    Last night after the tree was mostly up I got antsy.  Two of the kids were staying at Grammy's house and we had the oldest two and the youngest two at home. Mike and I decided to drive through Burger King and let the kids eat in the car while we searched out which houses had put their Christmas lights up early.  We were happy that many had and laughed as the eldest girls belted out Christmas songs in the back seat often substituting new lyrics.  O Come All Ye Faithful somehow had the lyrics, "I am a Banana, my name is Bob." 

    The eldest girls are impressing me very much lately.  I have watched them on the sly as they careful and lovingly research gifts to buy their siblings. Little bundles of money appear on my dresser with post-it notes attached reading, "Mom, this is money for ______ for ______'s Christmas present.  Can you order it for me?".  It really touches me that they spend their own hard-earned money on gifts for friends and family and never ask me to pay for them. It is a testament to their giving hearts.

Nablopomo

While I know that I am not meeting the NaBloPoMo goal this year I still posted 19 posts so far this month and I think that is pretty good. I have several blog posts up in my head I just need to get them up. Stay tuned.

Plus I did a rediesign of Jillyish and this page so...go me!

Check on Jillyish

Jillyish got a new look too. :)

Some bucolic photos...

I love taking pictures.  I really enjoy it.  But not when my subjects are squirrely and generally uncooperative.  This was one of those days.  There are a HEAP more pictures of the eldest two because teens at least know when to listen and do what mom says lest she blow her stack.  I was really surprised to get any good photos and even more surprised that were many excellent ones.

I keep looking at the pictures of the eldests and wondering when they grew up.  When did Maddy become so womanly and tall?  When did Gabby lose her chubby cheeks? Boo!  Kids should stay younger longer...on second thought NO...because it's nice to have some older subjects to photograph that stand still.

I know.  I know. It's impossible to believe this is what they look like.  I can't believe it either.

It seems like they should still look like this one does.

Even that one is getting big.  Too big for her britches sometimes too.

This little man...he is all kinds of exasperating but at the same time he is the cuddliest, sweetest 'yittle' guy. I need to put a book on his head so he'll stay that way.

AJ and Ginny...they were just not so stationary.  I got a couple.

I am continually amazed that all of these people are in the world because of me (and Mike of course!)  I sometimes stare at them and think, "I made that!" and sometimes I even say it outloud.

 

Maddy's List

We'd been bugging Maddy for a Christmas list recently.  She finally obliged thrusting this list at us...