Best homeschooling book ever.

Last year I had the good fortune to meet Rebecca from Shoved to Them blog.  We had both donated something for an auction for an orphan, and we started talking and hit it off.  I told her I was about to start homeschooling my kindergartener, and she helped me through the entire process.  She helped me with exactly what curriculum to pick, by listening to what Madeleine's interests were.  She likes science?  Get this book.  I'm terrified to teach math?  Get this program that teaches how to think mathematically.  (And bonus, I get to start over with kindergarten math and learn to think that way too!)   She was exactly what I needed at the time and I truly believe God placed her in my life for a reason.  Later on, she said she was going to write a book on homeschooling and asked me to read each chapter as she completed it.  It was to be a question and answer book too and I also got to ask her each question I had about each topic she was writing about.  The book was the best book on homeschooling I've ever read.  I would recommend anyone starting out or anyone thinking about it or even anyone who knows someone who homeschools to read it.

It came out on amazon this week.  This morning it was number 3 on the bestseller list.  I'm so proud of her!  Now go buy the book!!

Summer

Yesterday we went for a walk around our downtown and stopped into a little antique shop.  The kids were fascinated that all the things in there were once special to someone else.  All the dishes were used by other families, all the little baby clothes and shoes were worn by other babies, the dolls belonged to other little girls, the cars were played with by other little boys.  I didn't have much money but I picked out an old book that had stories for children.  When we got home, I put Sarah to bed upstairs and when I came down, M had found this perfect shady spot in the yard and was reading it to her brothers.  So I brought their lunch out there, and they had a picnic.

Sometimes I feel like they are missing out on things, like things we can't afford (M wants to take gymnastics, I think all kids need to be in swimming lessons, etc) but then days like this I think they are having a pretty great childhood.

New Header?

It only took me like 2 hours to figure out how to do that, and the poor 4th child isn't even in it.  Oh well!  It was time for a change.

I want to get back to blogging more.  I feel like facebook has taken over and I don't want that to happen.  This has been my online baby book for almost 7 years and I don't want to slack off for the poor 3rd and 4th child.  But it's 11pm now so this isn't going to be that exciting, but here's a few things that happened this week.

Madeleine asked why we weren't doing school anymore after a 5 day break.  Um.... it's summer vacation Honey.  Mama needs a break.  She said she was ready to start first grade so I bought her a first grade workbook from costco and she is doing several pages a day.  For fun.

John Paul is somewhat motivated to learn how to read, especially now that we came home from the library with a stack of superhero easy reader books.  (The boy is obsessed.)  So he has actually got the reading lesson book (Teach your child to read in 100 Easy Lessons) voluntarily and asked for a lesson every single day this week.  Sometimes twice a day.  Well, OK!

Leo is in undies full time but he still doesn't understand that you don't go number 2 in your pants.  He demonstrated this lack of understanding at the children's museum yesterday.  I amaze myself what I can do with a baby strapped to my back.  He is also talking up a STORM, saying 4-5 word sentences, and is becoming more and more understandable (to people other than me and his speech therapist) by the day.  He is listening in on the reading lessons too.  He also knows every single letter and he can count to at least 14.  That one might be smart.

Sarah is pretty much the best baby who ever lived.  When she's tired I lay her down in her crib, turn on her mobile, pop in her giraffe paci and she goes to sleep.  She wakes up in such a happy mood.  She takes 2 good naps a day, sometimes 3, and goes to bed by 8 each night.  She can go days without ever crying.  She weighs about 16 1/2 lbs, is quite a good roller, and loves to hang out in mommy's wraps.  She is the smiliest baby EVER.  My friend calls her the invisible baby whenever we go places with her because she just looks all around, smiles, sleeps when she wants to, but never cries or fusses.  (unlike one of her brothers, who makes up for that in a BIG way.)

We still don't have a stove.  Did you know you can make hard cooked eggs in a veggie steamer?  Yes you can.  It hasn't really been that bad so far.  Ken loves to grill and we've used the crock pot and tomorrow I might bust out the old dusty waffle maker just for fun.

I am loving taking pictures.  Now my kids are so used to it they usually don't give me big cheesy grins anymore, so I've gotten some pretty great shots!  I'm taking a class in a few weeks and I love to read about and try different techniques.  An acquaintance saw a few of my pics on Facebook and asked if I'd take pictures of her son for his 2nd birthday.  I did and she LOVED em.  She wants me to take pics for her again and said several of her friends were asking who took the pics.  She also gave me an awesome compliment.  She said that every time she looks at previous professional pictures they've had taken, she doesn't have any good memories attached to the pictures.  Instead she remembers trying to get everyone dressed and out the door, and it being a big hassle.  But when she looks at my pics, she remembers gleeful bubbles and yogurt raisins and her son being relaxed and happy.  I thought that was so great.  And she ordered some really big prints of some of my pictures.  So glad I could do that for her!

It had a good run.

Our 1968 stove that is. The other night, ken and I were sitting in the family room after the kids went to bed and we heard a loud POP and then flames and smoke started shooting out of the front of our stove. Ken quickly put out the fire with the extinguisher and turned off the breaker and I called 911. She instructed us to get the kids out of the house.  5 fire trucks and a policeman showed up in about 3 minutes, complete with sirens at 9:30 at night. They checked out the stove and said we were safe to go to sleep. The kids got fire hats and got to see the truck. Soooo glad this happened while we were awake and everyone is safe.

Now we are having some issues (stove is not a standard size so we either special order a 27 inch drop in stove or we get a standard and rip out cabinets.) meanwhile I'm using the crockpot, steamer, grill etc. 

if anyone has any ideas for breakfast, lunch or dinner with no stove or oven, let me know!

No pictures in this post you'll be happy to know.

First of all, Madeleine is DONE with kindergarten!!!  I'll post more on that later but I'm so proud of her (and me!) and so excited that WE DID IT!!!!  This year has been amazing and I'm looking forward to first grade.

But right now I wanted to share a little story of a boy who is about 90% potty trained.  This is a story about the 10%.  You've been warned.

So Leo usually does perfect at home.  He's been in big boy undies for about 3 weeks now and knows the drill.  He kind of freaks out about "going" in public though.  He hates automatic flush.  He's scared of going when we are out and has to REALLY have to go before it happens.  Then, he HAS to stand up which usually means he either stands on my feet or I have to hold him up with one hand and aim with the other.  This usually happens with a baby on my back.   There's a mental picture for you.

So last night, we went to hear Ken's band play at a Mexican restaurant.  We were sitting outside, and I noticed Leo had to "go."  So I took him inside and as soon as he gets in the bathroom he starts yelling, "Stand up!  Stand up!"  So I was able to hold him up and he went.  A little while later, the same scenario.  He stood up, I aimed, only..............

It wasn't pee.

Let's just say, for the rest of the night, there was a tiny pair of Mickey Mouse undies in the trash can and a little boy going commando.

One kid in diapers!!

Last week I decided that I was done changing a certain toddler's diapers.  I had talked to a friend who potty trained her boys with this 3 day method at 28 months and 23 months.  John Paul trained himself around 25 months and after trying some not so successful methods with Madeleine, she basically trained herself at 33 months.  So this was kind of new for me.  Basically you switch the kid to big boy underwear and tell him we are done with diapers.  Watch him like a hawk for 3 days and run him to the potty whenever he starts going, then give him a snack.  Sounds simple enough, right?  I started on Tuesday last week, hoping he would be good for John Paul's party on Sunday.  Well, for the first several days he was TERRIFIED of actually going on the potty.  Not sitting, just going.  He would scream and cry and throw a big fit every time while I tried to calm him down.  Ken thought I was traumatizing him but I thought that if I could help him get over this fear, he would have it down.  So on Friday and Saturday he seemed to be doing better with the fear.  Sunday was JPs party and since he REFUSES to go when I want him to, we had to just stick him in the car and hope for the best.  I stuck the potty seat in the van.  When we got to the playground, he saw it and wanted to go play right away and went in his pants as soon as he started playing. He hated it.  I changed him and cleaned him up, and  he hasn't had an accident since!  He is in undies full time (except at night) and I am loving it!!!  So proud of him!

Birthday boy!!

Some of my favorites

I'm loving my camera. I probably take between 100-200 photos a day ;)
Here are some of my recent favorites.
Any tips?

So far so good!

4 months

And it's baby boot camp time. Something has gotta give with these sleeping habits. As of today the cradle and cosleeper are gone and the crib is in our room! We are going to attempt to have her sleep there for naps and night. My back is killing me from sleeping on 6 inches of bed space with a giant baby attached to me all night.
Took a few 4 months pics, wasn't totally happy with any of them. Leo was crawling all over me while I was shooting ;)

Easter pics and first joke

All the kids learned their first knock knock joke from daddy last night.
Kid one: knock knock
Kid two: who's there?
Kid one: interrupting cow
Kid two: interr......
Kid one: Moooooo!!!

But Leo says it cutest.
Knock knock. Cow. Moooooo!!!

Easter Eve

Heart. melt.

John Paul asked to hold Sarah today which he has never done. I put her on his lap and he started talking to her and petting her head. I said, "Sarah, your big brother loves you!" And he said, "I really DO love her, mommy."

One year ago yesterday

Leo had his cleft palate repair.  I'm so amazed at how far he has come.  He is speaking so much more lately, he knows every one of his abc's, and he is such a great eater.  What a wonderful blessing he is to our family!  I'm still praying he doesn't need a second surgery.  Only about 20% of kids need it but his cleft was pretty wide, so he could be one of those.  We won't know til he's around 4 though.

Today we went to the Children's museum and I saw a little boy who was about 3 with an open cleft lip.  I asked his mom if he had a cleft palate too and she said yes.  I told her Leo had a cp and had surgery a year ago.  I told her all about it, showed her pictures, and she was able to see him and how well he is doing.  I told her he didn't mind the arm restraints and did so much better than we had expected.  They even have the same surgeon - for both the cleft and ear tubes!  She had just adopted him from China 5 weeks ago and he had had nothing but rice/formula bottles since then, and barely had been out of his crib!  He's THREE!  I gave her my phone number and told her to call me with any questions.  I'm so happy to have been able to help out and put her mind at ease.

Kids enjoying (hopefully) last snow

And I'm enjoying my new camera!

Madeleine is 6!!

I can't even believe it.

PSA

You're probably wondering why I haven't published any new pics with my awesome new camera.  Well, it's because it's not here yet.  I'm telling you right now, NEVER ever order anything from Mellodigital.  And apparently everyone on the internet knew they were thieves and liars except me.  (ALWAYS read reviews of a place before ordering something.  Lesson learned.)  Anyway, we cancelled the order and I ordered one on ebay and it should be here this week.  Unfortunately not in time for Madeleine's birthday, but soon afterwards.  While I've been waiting, I've been working on editing photos.  Maybe an old dog CAN learn new tricks!  We shall see!

Speaking of Madeleine.  She got in huge trouble tonight for directly disobeying and spent most of the day in her room.  She came down at dinnertime and said she had asked God for help to be better.  We also prayed a decade of the rosary as a family (what we are doing for lent.)  I made sure to tell her that we still loved her and we would always forgive her if she asked, just like God does for all of us when we mess up.  She was pretty penitential :)  

We are doing the Papal Unit study this week over at Shower of Roses.  It has been so fun!  We watched Pope Benedict's departure yesterday, and talked about the conclave and looked at pictures of the Sistene chapel.  Then we made a German feast in his honor, complete with soft pretzels.  Yum!  

Ok I'll leave you with one more with my point and shoot I'm happy with, until my 3200 gets here!  This is the first really good smile I've caught on camera :)

Working on Photography

For the past few years, I have only taken pictures of my kids with my iphone.  I have some decent ones and I probably took thousands of pictures, but no really good ones.  I had a really old Canon power shot that took really bad pics - worse than my phone - so I just didn't use it.  My aunt and uncle gave me a new Nikon point and shoot and I've been having lots of fun with it!  And also I saved up for several months and finally ordered a Nikon d3200.  I'm hoping to get it this week or next and I can't wait to practice!  Luckily I have a very cute, non moving baby to practice on ;)

Here's my favorite picture from our photo shoot today....  

Any tips from my photographer friends out there?  

11 weeks today

Last night I put Sarah in her cradle around 9, she had been asleep since 8. I went to bed around 10:30 and woke up at 5:30 and she was still asleep in her cradle! And she slept til 7:30!

Destination Jesus 2013

So I did my usual volunteer security shift at DJ yesterday.  Love it love it love it!  Here's a picture of what the gym looks like transformed into a chapel.  It's beautiful, the kids are reverent, the music is great, the whole weekend is so much fun.

Sarah and I arrived at 7am in 10 degree weather.  She slept most of the time the kids were arriving, which was good because the doors kept opening and letting in the arctic air.  Two really great things happened this weekend, one of them sad but beautiful.

The first thing was on Saturday.... I took the kids to hear Ken play in the band.  (They loved it!)  In between the two sets of music they said the Divine Mercy chaplet.  The day before, Friday, my bff since junior high called me and said her mother was very close to dying.  The doctor had given her about 3 weeks at that point.  She was ready for her not to suffer anymore, but also very sad of course.  My mom said to tell her to pray the divine mercy chaplet, as she and her siblings had done for my grandma last Christmas as she was dying.  She did.  Then all 850 kids (including some of her grandchildren) prayed it on Saturday.  Immediately after leaving I learned that Gloria had passed away. So beautiful that we were all praying that prayer.  Please pray for their family.  Gloria has such a beautiful soul, mother of 9 children, gave selflessly her entire life.

The next thing happened on Sunday.  I had heard a talk about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is kind of a montessori way of teaching young kids about Jesus as the good shepherd, the mass, Jesus laying down his life for his sheep, etc.  It's very hands on, and the kids play with a set - Jesus as the good shepherd, sheep, a fence, a "yard," and an altar.  There is a way to teach about it that sounded very beautiful.  The classes are expensive and I couldn't find the book used to save my life.  The book is called The Good Shepherd and the Child.  Anyway, when Sarah woke up from her first nap she decided to scream inconsolably for about 15 minutes.  As I was walking her up and down the hallway trying to calm her down, I ran into an Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia.  I asked her if she knew anything about the Catechesis of the Good shepherd.  She looked surprised and said she had just taken a class on how to teach it!  I told her what I wanted to do (make M one of these sets for her birthday and learn how to teach it as well.)  She was very happy and said she would love to help me!  She asked for my email (and I had to give her the yahoo one I rarely use because I couldn't really give my milkjugs one to a nun!) and she said she would meet with me.  I'm SO excited!  Also I asked Sew if her mom would paint the sheep for me.  She will and I sent them today!  So thrilled.  I have a peg doll of Jesus as the good shepherd, a board that I'll cover with green felt, a fence with a gate, 9 wooden sheep, and a beautiful box to keep it all in when she's not playing with it.  I think it will be a hit!

I got to attend the mass on Sunday, wearing Sarah on my chest, the same mass where I chose to be happy and praise God's name whatever happened in my life.  That was in 2006, right before my second surgery for stage 4 endo, right after my second lupron shot, when I thought there was a chance I would never be a mother.  Now I have my 4th beautiful sleeping baby on my chest.  Thank you God.