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Showing posts from March, 2012
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Morning cartoons on the computer
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Shh! Don't tell them, but they've been in there painting for over an hour, perfectly content.
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Avril got a "big girl" bike for her birthday.  I can't even look at her face in this picture without my heart melting.  She felt so special yesterday.
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Nummies
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Avril turns three today.
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The baby is due in less than one week. I am very eager for labor to begin, but I am also waiting on nature to decide it's time, so in the meantime, I've been trying to stay busy doing things that will make the coming weeks easier on my family and myself. One thing that I am glad I've had a little extra time to do is plan and prepare meals in advance. I was never able to do this before having the other two girls and I still remember feeling sad that Dwayne had nothing on hand to prepare for dinner when we first came home from the hospital, or feeling guilty that my in-laws were here helping me recover, but there was nothing for them to eat, or feeling tired and hungry on evenings when I was on my own with the kids again, Dwayne was on his way home and I was just wishing I could run down to the freezer for something, anything! to make to give my family so we could eat home cooked food, at our own table and be normal again. So with some extra time this pregnancy, I plan
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Ice pops.
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Avril
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A few weeks ago, I was trying some of Norah's old sandals onto Avril's feet and as you can see, they were a bit too big for her. That much excess sandal past the tip of her toes will get caught on the ground and trip her over and over again as she runs around this summer. So I knew she would need a  smaller pair of sandals and since Norah never had a pair of sandals in the smaller size Avril needs, I would have to buy Avril a brand new pair for $10-20 dollars... Bummer! since I saved all of Norah's old clothes and shoes that weren't too worn or stained in hopes that I would be able to reuse them with the next girl as she grew into them. But, it doesn't always work out, as in this case. Shoes have to fit well. For most things, like clothes, it doesn't really matter if things don't fit perfectly (so long as the season of the clothing fits the season outside) so it's usually in my best interest to save clothes to see if I can re-use them. Note: Thes
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When I was a little kid, my parents used to make ice pops for me and my siblings in our deep freezer out of Kool Aide and Styrofoam cups. We'd sit out in the sunshine, on the edge of the sidewalk, in bathing suits, peeling and squeezing the Styrofoam off the blocks of red ice as they melted, savoring every sweet and tangy slurp. This is one of my most vivid memories as a kid so I do this at least once a spring/ summer for my kids, too. (I think my parents only ever made one batch of these ice pops because we didn't get them all summer long, only a few times and then we were "out.") It took me a few tries to find the exact flavor of drink mix to match the flavor I remembered from my childhood. I knew it was red, so I thought it had to be cherry or strawberry, but it turned out to be fruit punch so that's what I buy every time. My kids won't get a lot of the unhealthy things I got as a kid like Happy Meals with toys inside and I don't mind that at all
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I caught Norah reading to Avril the other day.
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Avril's starting to talk more and more correctly. In the meantime, I want to record all the words she uses for stuff so that we don't forget her sweet, unique, baby vocabulary. Dog= Ruff Cat= Yow Norah = Baby Horse= Yee haw Shoes= Yous Monster, skeletons or any wild animal with sharp teeth= Ha-me (cause that's the noise monsters make as they exhale and come after you slowly with their claws up) Cars= Beeps Sleep= Haaa (cause that's the deep-breathing sound people make when they are asleep) Food= Nummies Please= Eeez
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Norah
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Bubbles in the sandbox
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I got this new spring/ summer outfit for Avril at the thrift store for $4. The shirt and shorts are both Circo brand from Target, both in "like new" condition. But these pieces didn't come home at the same time. The shirt was purchased several months ago, well before it was in season. The shorts were purchased just last week. I get almost all the girls' clothes at the thrift store now and I am managing to find each kid several more pieces of clothing in their size each season and still spending less on two kids than I spent buying everything new for one kid. If I go often, comb the shelves and buy things a little big or ahead of season, I find almost everything the girls need in the way of everyday clothes. I haven't had as much luck finding enough pajama sets or shoes in their sizes, though. So, half the time, I end up having to buy those items new. However, I have gotten lucky here and there. I found both the girls' dress shoes to match their Christm
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Avril
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It's realistic to expect that Norah will go at least a few weeks without "school" when the new baby arrives. She's going without school here and there already as often I get the urge to prepare for the baby and clean and organize the house.  So, right after the baby comes, I'll be depending on everyday activities to teach Norah what I'm not teaching her with the help of textbooks during that period of time. It's comforting that as I've been thinking about this, I've also been noticing just how much everyday things really can teach her (when I make her turn off the television and computer screens). Here are a few things I noticed just today. We ran out of salt water for Norah's hermit crabs today. Last time we needed salt water, I just made it myself. But today, I made Norah mix one teaspoon of salt water conditioner to one cup of spring water to make the solution. Using 1/2 a teaspoon, she had to double that to get enough of the condition
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"Norah, Can you go get the clothes out of the dryer and bring them to me?" "Norah, You need to pause your movie and come unload the dishwasher now." "Norah, Please help your sister pick up those puzzles...again." "Ugh. Norah, I spilled some spaghetti sauce. Will you get a wipe and clean it up, please? I'm sorry, baby. I just can't bend over to do it myself right now. Thanks." "Norah, Will you please, please, please bring me a glass of ice water? Awesome." We're depending on Norah more and more these days. She's so capable and helpful and usually has the most easy going spirit about dropping what she's doing to help us anytime we call on her. Of course, she complains sometimes. (So does her mom sometimes.) But even as she complains, she's usually on her way toward the chore we've asked her to do to do it anyway. (So am I, usually.) And she always apologies sincerely when we correct her for her
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It's that time of year again. The Girl Scouts are selling their cookies. We usually indulge in at least one box of Samoas and Thin Mints.
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Once it's warm enough every spring, we pull the sand toys out of storage and greet the sandbox after the long separation all winter.  In this picture, the girls had collected hickory nuts in Avril's gardening apron from all over the yard and decorated their "castle" with them. Compare the picture above with the one below. I took this on the first spring day outside after we moved into this house, back when Norah was younger than Avril is now.  Time flies.  
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Here's a recent picture of the belly from my point of view. I was listening to some music while I watched the girls play in the sandbox. I needed to have one ear open to hear what was going on around me, so I rested one of my headphones on my belly. The baby seemed to respond to the music at times. Disclaimer: I might not be able to blog everyday for a while. As you can see, I am very close to delivering this baby. If nothing else, I will try to keep posting photos of the girls and the baby, once she arrives. I know my family enjoys them. But I reserve the right to disappear for a while if necessary. I have no idea what life will be like with a newborn and two other kids.
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Avril peeks in at me through the screen door wearing 3D glasses and drawing with 3D chalk.
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Another thrift store find, this geography kit was only $2 brand new. It included a book, an inflatable globe and stickers. The book has really neat activities here and there. This activity showed how ancient people could tell the world was round. Norah kept the Lego figure touching the globe and moved it forward. The Lego figure's legs disappeared, then his torso, then finally his head. And, in the same way, ancient people watched through spy glasses as ships disappeared hull to sail, not all at once, proving their was a curve in the horizon. At the end of each chapter, you place stickers on the globe. We're a few chapters into the book and the book is short, so we'll finish in a few days. This is making for an interesting addition to our regular routine of study.
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More and more, Avril insists on being a part of what's going on at the kitchen table. And more and more, I find it difficult to exile her to another room while Norah and I do lessons. Avril's getting older so she seems more aware of the fact that mom and Norah are doing something special together and she is not a part of it. When she cries as she leaves the room to go play alone, her tears are genuine now, so it's difficult not to sympathize with her. Therefore, I have been letting her stay near us more often. Most of the time, I have activities for her to do at the table or even under the table that keep her close by but busy. But, as you can see, there are times, however brief, when she can be very distracting. When that's happening, I focus on training Norah who is old enough now to handle it, to just ignore her sister and keep working. I've heard other home school moms say their toddlers were a challenge like this so this stage isn't taking me by complet
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When I pictured what my kid's rooms would look like, I pictured quaint comforter sets that match the paint on the walls that match the curtains that match the rugs on the floor. You know what I mean. I wanted a picture from the Pottery Barn catalog. But my reality is very different than what I imagined. Avril prefers to sleep with a stuffed crocodile as her pillow. (Dwayne won this crocodile for me on our honeymoon, by the way.) She also prefers this throw over the expensive quilt that matches her bedroom set. (My mom bought her this throw when we were visiting her in South Carolina.) How do I know she really prefers this stuff since she doesn't talk that much? Because when this crocodile isn't in her bed, she asks for it, pointing to where it should be. "Ha-me?" That's her word for any animal with sharp teeth. And when I put the nice quilt that goes with her bedroom set over her, she kicks it off and makes a puking sound and then points to this bl
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 It took all day! But the girls are thrilled to be sharing a room. 
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Reading the first book in the series called The Homeschool Detectives, gifts from friends whose teenage daughter had outgrown them. Norah says, "Man. It's good."
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I set out to make the perfect chili the other day.  Perfect according to me, that is. I was going for a chili similar to one my best friend's mom always made while we were growing up or maybe a chili just a little more hearty than the one she always made. I think I came close to what I was going for, to my idea of perfect. Here's what I did. I started by browning 1 1/2 lbs. of ground beef (80/20) in my cast iron dutch oven.  Once brown, I scooped the beef out onto a plate, leaving the grease in the bottom of the pot.  To that grease, I added a small, chopped, white onion and let it cook. Then I sprinkled in a whole bunch of cumin, maybe a 1/4 teaspoon, half as much chili powder and pinch of Cayenne pepper and about half a teaspoon of salt and stirred it around with the onions.  I cooked the onions in the grease and spices till they were translucent. Next, I added two 28 ounce cans of whole tomatoes and their juice, crushing the tomatoes one at a time as they went in. War
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The girls display their Davy Crockett coloring sheets. Sometimes I will add activities to our Writing With Ease program. For example, when our writing lessons used excerpts from the book Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman , we listened to The Ballad of Davy Crockett and the girls danced around, then we listened to his autobiography while the girls colored a free picture of Crockett that I got online. We don't do this with every book our writing program uses excerpts from, but when we do this "extra" stuff, it certainly makes home school more interesting and fun.
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Avril is a very pleasant kitchen companion. She is quite content to just watch me work while her sister is off doing something else. She doesn't distract me (much). I will often give her a little snack of pretzels or fruit to munch on while she "helps Momma." This makes her feel really special. I let her taste things here and there and I let her steal as much shredded cheese as she wants from my pile if I happen to be shredding cheese. She loves shredded cheese. I really enjoy this time with Avril. It's fast becoming one my favorite things to do with her.
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I found this like-new dry erase book at the thrift store and now it's one of Avril's new favorite things to do.
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While Norah's doing school work at the kitchen table, Avril will steal a pencil from Norah's basket and crawl under the dining room table and draw on a spare pad of her dad's graph paper.
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Scrubbing dishes with Momma
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Avril at dinner
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This was another science experiment in our chapter on digestion. To show how enzymes help digest our food, we put slices of ham into jars with water and added the enzyme papain (a.k.a. meat tenderizer) to one jar. After two days, we compared the ham in the jar of just water (top) with the ham in the jar with papain (bottom).  The jars sat on my kitchen counter for a few days and I didn't smell anything amiss. (I never thought I'd agree to have science experiments on my kitchen counters, but like many other things I said "never" about in the past, I am doing it all the time now.) However, when we opened the lids to discard the ham, it smelled really, really bad.  Just be warned.   
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Deliberate- 1. Done with or marked by full consciousness of the nature and effects; intentional 2. Arising from or marked by careful consideration 3. Unhurried in action, movement, or manner, as if trying to avoid error I decided to limit my daughter's access to television, deliberately. Several people just dismiss my decision to limit television because they assume I'm fearful about modern culture's influence on my daughter, etc. But that's not it, at least not entirely. I am conscious that television influences kids and characters on television model behaviors and ideals I probably don't want my kids to emulate, but I am even more conscious of television's basic affect on our home's environment. I wanted to create a place where my daughter would find it easy to read and televisions just aren't conducive to that. Have you ever seen a television on inside a library or a bookstore? I see them inside bars and restaurants all the time, but never in li