Plans for 2011-12

Of course those plans are always subject to change! and already have several times!  LOL

For the fall semester Thursday will continue to be a Learn Through Play with our homeschool group. 
I am planing a Letter of the Week activity and surrounding that concept we will be doing lots of activities that deal with that letter.  We know a lot of letters by sight, but writing is a totally different concept
Memory verse and Bible story reading or story telling around that verse.  I plan to make a flannel board that can be used with this activity and several other activities as well. 
Manners and working on listening better.  Listening and following directions and table manners, cleaning up her toys, etc. 
Art, Art, Art.  Pine cone texture painting, painting and creating collages with other nature based objects.
Nature club with our other homeschool group. Sarah loves exploring and learning about the natural world.  She is a rock hound, star gazer, botanist and explorer extraordinaire!
Some Science activities, which include a lot of art and trips to the zoo! 
Some Home Ec activities which include math!  :-)  and to that we will add basic number recognition, adding and taking away, etc. 
Reading, which will include some of Charlotte Mason's recommended books from Simply Charlotte Mason and we will be reading the children's version of The Light and the Glory. 
Some unit activities for a few holidays.
With each of these activities we might include creating lap books so we can see all that we have done throughout the year. 
Daily outside play.
Little Gym will continue I think, at least for a while as will Ballet on saturdays. 

Those that are also homeschooling, what are your plans for the year?

Happy Tending!

Outside my window... Hints of brief sunshine.

I am thinking... all the things I need to do... laundry, housework, getting ready for school.....

I am thankful for... laughter!

I am wearing...slacks and shirt and warm socks, IN JULY

I am remembering... this weekend I need to.....

I am going... get to work soon!  We are going to a pedicure party later!!

I am currently reading...nada

I am hoping... tomorrow we can paint those basement walls!

On my mind... family situations and birthday parties

Noticing that... we must mow soon

Pondering these words... "Mommy I'm a big girl, not a little girl"

From the kitchen... pasta salad

Around the house...Sounds of Bugs life that I put in while I wrote this!  LOL  we cuddle we talk about bugs and mommy writes.  

One of my favorite things…sunshine......  and fall leaves!

making headway

We have most of the new expanded pantry wall framing up.  I am currently working on sorting and organizing the pantry then to work on the rest of it.  Little by little.....  will go up tomorrow evening I think and buy Sheetrock.  Yippeee!  LOL  But this is a dream I have had.  Found our toilet I want to buy this fall, hope it will still be on sale.  I am just excited and waiting on pins and needles for Habitat for Humanity to open up about a mile from us.  EXCITED.  Windows, doors.....  JUNK!  All things to repurpose and I love doing that!  I have turned dressers into sink vanities...  and more.  I even made a old ladder in to a pan rack for my mom one time.  I thought it was cool.  I guess I am the junk queen. 

When I lived in Nebraska I would visit the town dump and find all sorts of treasures.  I miss the town dump!  I found an old tractor seat one time and cleaned it up, painted a fall scene on it and hauled it around to craft sales for a year and it always got complements, especially from the old men that normally just come to craft sales because their wife says they have to.  Then one day, much to my surprise and a bit of heart ache, a lady bought it for her sons fancy outdoor living space.....  haven't found another tractor seat yet....  I do have an old antique ironing board I have plans to paint......  Soon!   

Sarah has been in Vacation Bible School this week and loving it so far.  It gave me time to shop yesterday morning and this morning I came home and expected to work but got caught up on another project instead.  Oh me oh my!  So many things in the fire.....

Last night a friend on Facebook had a post and the post got me to thinking about being happy with where you are in life and with what you have.  I do think this, though I am not saying I don't NEED to be more organized.  I am happy with my life and hope it shows, I intend to make sure it shows more.  Another friend made a comment on a completely different thread about "blooming where you are planted."  Two things about the same topic in less than 24 hrs is telling.  Be happy with where you are in life, and be happy with what God has blessed you with, even if it might not seem like a blessing right now.  We don't always see the big picture, but God does.

Happy Tending!

It's a pudding kind of day

My little baker girl!

I have no idea why, but it just seems like a jello pudding kind of day.

 

Another day of rain, and under 60 degrees, IN JULY.  I doubt our garden will do anything at all.  I will protect it as long as I can through the fall, but the outlook is appearing bleak.

our loaves of bread

The pull-up saga:  We have done really good, I wont say no accidents, but we are doing well.  She loves wearing panties.  I did decide she sleeps way to hard right now at night though.  She doesn't wake up if she has an accident.  Too busy dreaming about what adventures she will have I guess!

We baked bread together today for a project.  We measured, kneaded, poured and stirred our way to a loaf of homemade bread.  Yummy!  Sarah made her own loaf too. 



trying out embroidery!

I also finished a friend of Sarah's birthday present.  Of course I had a bunch of help with that too.  I am new to sewing, not having done much of it, but despite hating the pattern and winging it on my own, I think it turned out cute, just don't look too close for mistakes.  :-)  I hope the little girl loves it.  It did give me the chance to explain to Sarah how things we make for others are so special.  How the hours spent on making the item means so much more than a quick toy bought at the store and how each stitch is done with love and thought about how much the recipient will like it.  I  don't want her to be one of those children that don't appreciate the love that goes into handcrafted gifts.  

Anyway, to be continued......

Happy Tending! 



Bear wearing the finished apron
for her friends present.




close up of finished embroidery









 

Bye Bye Princess Pull-ups?



Excitement...  what joy to be almost 4!



Since my wee Bear was 2 I have struggled with the P word.  You know, that word that means the end of the D word, DIAPERS.  With every bag of pull-ups I buy I hope it will be our last.  We tried everything, literally everything, and just in case we didn't, everyone was very willing to give their advice, overly willing at times.  :-)

• The timer method
• the pantie only method
• bribes
• stickers
• tried candy but that wasn't her thing I guess
• tried toys
• tried the timer again
• bribes again
• "Sarah, all your friends wear panties, shouldn't you?"  S--"No mommy, I'm your baby!"  LOL  Then the next breath, "I'm a BIG GIRL not a baby" when told she was too little to climb the ladder or some other no no.
• I carried her to the toilet screaming like I was pulling toenails out,  "Help me help me!  I don't want the toilet!" 

What was I to do?  I often times was at my wits end.  I thought I was a bad parent.  i was told I wasn't strict enough.  I was told to show her who was the boss... the list is about as long as the Declaration of Independence.

Last year I gave up trying, I mean I figured how in the world was I expected to drag a screaming limp child that weighed 45 lbs into the bathroom and pull her pants down at the same time.  I still took her to the bathroom a few times a day, and she would always go on "command" but she really didn't mind being wet.  I, on the other hand, detested wet furniture.  I am hoping that now is history for the most part.  We have been in panties for a 5 days and tonight, no pull-up in bed, per her insistence. 

Playing in the sprinkler.

Here's how it went down.  Saturday or Sunday, I can't really remember, Sarah woke up and when I went to change her pull-up she said, "Mommy I want panties today."  I was shocked, and said, "are you sure?"  S--"yes mommy.  Desiray wears panties and I want to too"  (D is a friend that is about a year older then herself that she sees and adores).  So on went the panties. 



The first day or two was rough, we couldn't get panties off in time.  Grandma had a solution on Monday, buy a bigger size pantie!  We went pantie shopping and the rest is history.  I tried with all my might to get her to pick non character but we have Tinker Bell underwear and are loving them!  Maybe, just maybe, we will be trained by 4!  I certainly hope so, but what am I suppose to do with all those princess pink pull-ups? 



To be continued......

 On other fronts, we had a great 4th of July!  It started Saturday with a BBQ at Jess and Scott's place in Gig Harbor.  Great wine, good food and wonderful friends and conversations.  Jess' sis even is friends with someone I use to know.... Small world!  Then Monday Sarah and I spent the afternoon with Jess' family in Port Orchard.  Great water view of the fireworks!  A few pictures from that.

Happy Tending!

 

A pretty fairy wand....  kind of.  LOL



Outside my window... Dark hours are upon me.... 

I am thinking... Do I have a birthday card, or do I need to stop and buy one????? 

I am thankful for... Dh and Bear.  And the fun they have together!



I am wearing... must  you know?  :-)

I am remembering... My daddy.  I wish he could see his little granddaughter that reminds me in many ways of him.  He had a sense of humor and I think her's matches it.  Those two would be comical together.

I am going... to bed soon.

I am currently reading... Last Child still



I am hoping... tonight goes well!

On my mind... family

Noticing that... my front bed needs weeded, again!

Pondering these words... "Life is like a box of chocolates..."

From the kitchen... the dishwasher

Around the house...A World War II documentary on the war in the Pacific

One of my favorite things… cuddles, with my husband!  I'm off to cuddle now!





Teamwork!  When we work together, we can accomplish the impossible!





VVVVROOOOOMMMMM

This week we have been looking at butterflies, lady bugs and potato bugs (aka Rollie pollies).  Weeding the garden and playing so much.  Bubbles and butterflies are so much fun. 

Learn Through Play, what a wonderful concept.  the past three days we have been helping daddy as he tends to his "garden" in the shed working on the old Yamaha motorcycle so we can sell it. Sarah has been quite the little assistant, handing wrenches and providing a great amount of cheerleading.  They have been discussing how big of a motorcycle they are going to build when she is older, discussing engine sizes and types.  I think this quality time getting dirty together with daddy is priceless.

This week our Homeschool Group (one of them) had a "graduation" celebration for the kids.  We went and Sarah said she wanted to show some of her dancing she has learned.  She had so much fun and did so well.  I am so very proud of her.  I think next year in ballet will be a whole new experience. 

The past couple weeks in so many ways I am seeing my little girl turn into 4.  So many things are changing even in her personality.  Her sense of humor, while always funny, is growing by leaps and bounds.  She is destined to be the "class clown" and I am ok with it, we just need to be sure she acts well and doesn't tease her friends too much.  She is such a whip and cute as a bug when she gets that little grin, we just need to rein it in until she learns to do it better, last night her good friend Loren almost got a face full of liquid that should have found a home in her tummy.  LOL  I just seen an impish grin on Bears face and knew what was on her mind.

Happy Tending!