How Does A First Grader Decompress After A Week of Classes?

By playing long and hard whenever she has a minute! I came upon the whole village in the livingroom on Saturday morning...before 8 am...this little girl had everything arranged (with the help of her siblings) and was off to the land of make-believe! Most children will sleep in a little on the weekends...not our children! The only day we sometimes have to coax them out of bed is Sunday (and not very often). Ashlynn won't admit to anyone that she is liking school...ask her and see what she says! But she is doing a fantastic job!
She rattled off her verses for me today (if she said it any faster, I was going to call Mari and have her interpret!) and I sat there with my mouth open (John 3:14-19). Her least favorite thing to do in school is cursive writing, but she is really improving! Cursive looks a little neater than the straight stick and ball printing. She is quick with the math facts! Reading is becoming more of a desired subject..."I can do this by myself now!" She wrote her first sentence (during the sermon Sunday night...) in my notebook....the cat got the milk (no capital letters or punctuation...but who cares...it was a complete thought done all on her own!) I did have to shush her as she sounded out her words...got, g...o...t... got a little noisy!
It is rewarding to see her hard work pay off...and ours too! The work in K5 to get her to do blends, read, and write was equivalent to having teeth extracted without novacaine or vallium! That was a new thing for me...I always got the students after they had mastered reading and writing!
Let's hear it for those who teach pre-school and kindergarten...willingly...year after year!!! We love our K5 teacher!!! And will for a total of three years...please don't retire yet...you still need to help Teddy!

A Happy Saturday Birthday Party!

How many miles will it take to work off the moolatte?

We have the opportunity to go to the YMCA in our town. The kids love to go and Ted tries to get there to work out. Friday night, we all went and had a good work out! I was excited to go a mile with no pain! The elliptical (sp?) machine caused instant burn to some unused muscles...definitely have a ways to go to be able to be on it more that 2 1/2 minutes! Now, I am trying to figure out how to fit it all in on our weekly schedule. Today, we will go after school...because it is supposed to rain and we need to run and play! And...I need to walk off the treat!

Welcome Fall!

We have been noticing the slight change in the trees in our neighborhood as we go back and forth to school...three times a day. On Friday, this tree "just all of a sudden" turned a bright orange! I love this time of year! The colors and crunch of the leaves as they litter the sidewalks makes playing outside so fun! We are still waiting for the cooler weather!

Cinderella doesn't live here!

I had a comment about the pictures of our home...this is the normal look during the day! I am a little crazy about wanting things picked up when we go to bed...a clean slate for a new day!

I am also a little wacko about leaving a clean house when we go away or know we are having company. When it comes to baseboards and cobwebs in the corners...candlelight is my friend!

I don't stress out about things like I used to...ask Ted...but I do believe if I do a little every day, it is not so overwhelming!

Plus...my kids have arms and legs that work, so if they make a mess, they clean it up! I always tell them, "I am not Cinderella!" Alisa made sure I heard her agree with me..."You don't have a beautiful dress to go to the ball!" Actually...I can't find it in the pile of laundry waiting for me!

Thwarted by dryer vent tubing

Why is it that I can't seem to do the seemingly easiest little job around here to make it easier for my husband? I have just fought with the dryer vent tubing for almost 30 minutes to no avail. Every so often, we have to disconnect it and take it to the shop to blow out all the lint and dust that gets trapped. I have to work on laundry because it is the size of Mount Everest again...and the humidity and dust blowing into the basement is not nice. In an effort to help the love of my life, I thought I could put the tubing back on...how hard could that be? Every time the top was lined up the bottom wouldn't fit...so I flipped it around...even worse. I am ashamed to admit that I couldn't get it together...how smart does one have to be to outwit dryer vent tubing? Evidently, you must have the male hormones to wrangle it into place, get it lined up, and connect it so it will stay put!
Just another thing in my daily life to throw a curve at the to do list. So I apologize, dear husband, for not being able to handle the seemingly easy job...and add another thing to your day.
It was a reminder to me that we complement and complete each other...I can handle the washing, drying, and folding and Ted handles the wearing, tearing, and fixing! Being the "weaker vessel" is a little hard to take sometimes...it is humbling to admit that frustration sets in so quickly and I then can no longer think clearly. (If Ted had that mindset, we would be living in a cardboard box.) So...I tackle it again, surely this can be done...I teach our children not to give up or say "I can't".
No...it has been my undoing for the afternoon. When tears cloud the eyes...more of embarassment or frustration I can't say...it is time to give up and admit that I desperately need my spouse's help. I am the weaker vessel...emotionally, physically, and right now...mentally! I was defeated by dryer vent tubing...full of dust and lint my basement shall be. The next use of an appliance will be the vaccuum...who shall win that contest?

LIttle Boys

How many times a day does a little boy need to wash his hands to not feel sticky or smell dirty? I don't know yet...but he is bound and determined to find out!
You see, the sink is a new playground...and bring on the bubbles! I will not be surprised when our bathroom is flooded someday. We have had rivers flowing in the past...and puddles on the rugs.
The older the kids get, the bigger the messes...because of the original mess and then the cover up or the attempt to clean up the mess!
Life is never dull with a busy little boy...and at the moment, he is smelling like he needs a bath before Awana!

Enjoying the mail

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!!!
Alisa loves to look at the American Girl catalog when it comes. She has a wish list a mile long...keep wishing baby girl!
Teddy always grabs the tool/hardware store ads! He actually will look at all the pages and tell me what his Daddy has or one of the guys has at the shop.

Books and Buddies at the Library

Fingerpainting fun

We went to Books and Buddies today while the girls were in school. One of the activities was fingerpainting! Teddy was quite upset that his picture was gone when it was time to leave...I guess some mothers don't know their kids names!? So we got out the fingerpaints at home and had fun outside with the sisters! Let's just say...there was more paint on their clothes and hands than on the paper! They had fun and that was the point...nothing a bowl of soapy water couldn't handle!

Mosquito Bait

Our friends came up to the lakehouse for lunch and to play...we had fun! The adults talked and were entertained by Noah and the dog...and the kids played in the dirt and were tasty little treats for the mosquitoes. The rain has made the little creatures most ferocious at all hours of the day! Even the dirt couldn't keep them at bay...sorry, kids!

Homework for the First Grader

With Reading Handbook practice already done, it was time for Math drills.

Practicing Math facts with Daddy is fun...notice the big jar of M&Ms! I found this neat placemat at the dollar store and it was a change from the flashcards. Ashlynn has caught the addition concept and is "working the numbers in her head" just like her Daddy does! (Notice the naughty dog on the bench again...maybe looking for more banana bread?)