Bad parents

We gave our baby easy cheese. She really liked it. Can you believe we even had easy cheese in the house? I picked it up for the boys on a whim at the store. Jake calls it party cheese cause you (usually) eat it on crackers. Very sophisticated, my boy is.

Easy and satifsfying, my kind of project

What to do with all of those broken (or even just dull) crayons? Yes, I know that has been on your mind lately.





May I present to you....Crayon Cookies!

First you peel them and then just put them into regular muffin tins.






I used an old one and from now on it will just be a craft tin but anyway, then just put them into a warmish oven and let them melt. Then pop them in the freezer and then pop them out and viola! Crayon Cookies!








This is an old idea, but I rediscovered it after seeing it on Kiddley

She's got soul but she's not a soldier

In response to the concerns of caring viewers, the management would like to update the audience to assure you that Laine did not suffer harm in the making of this video. I mean, nothing more harmful than would just need a kiss on the from mom





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Gearing up for school

Public schools have all started around here and the private ones start next week I think. I think the schools are trying to slowly move the gen pop to a year round system. I understand the reasoning and it very well may be a good idea, but I am sad for summer.

We will officially start HS September 5th. It is the start date for L and L's pre-school so it seems a natural beginning for us. We joined a Catholic HS group and I am just amazed and excited about all of the activities and support that is offered. Tons of field trips, mother's nights out, book clubs for all ages and a co-op. The best thing for me is that is not all or nothing with this group, I need flexibility.

Here is the plan so far:

Math: Saxon Math 1 and 2 I like the Saxon math bc it is what they were doing last year and I like the spiral methodology. I was a bum at math in school mostly bc I never developed any real number sense. Saxon continuously builds on concepts, but relates them to what has already been covered. The kids learn how everything is related not just memorizing facts.

Reading/Spelling: This is tricky. Jake is reading wonderfully, Ryan is catching up quickly. We will do the Five in a Row (FIAR) program, along with the Catholic Mosaic books and also throw in some poetry for recitation and study. I tested them with some online assesments and they are both above their grade levels so I will be adjusting this as they continue to improve. I am having them each do spelling books as well. That will help with spelling and handwriting.

History/Geography: Well the co-op this semester is about American government. It will be plenty of material for Ryan, but I will supplement Jake with learning states and capitals and some early US history I have some workbooks and activities for that.

Art: Mommy it's a Renoir! with the art cards and there are lots of FIAR art projects and appreciation lessons.Actually, Luke and Laine are are so interested in the art cards and the early levels of this are more for their age, Jake and Ryan will move quickly through this I think.

Music: Jake will be learning the recorder and how to read music with an Usborne book. Also we are listening to the Music Masters series.

Drama: They will be in the 1st and 2nd grade Nativity play this semester for the co-op

Science: Science with Air and Science with Plants.
Sports: Ryan will be doing flag football and he is thrilled. I am looking into tennis for Jake. He likes it and has natural, easy strokes. A little Lee!

So that is the jist of it. We may get into lapbooking and/or notebooking, but we'll ease into it.

Thankfulness

You spot a tiny roundish dark lump on the baby matress as you pick up your sugar smoosh after a nap. Resolved, you bravely grab a tissue. You sigh a deep, thankful sigh when you realise it is merely a raisin.

Poor Lainey

Today I am taking Laine to get her tonsils/adenoids x-rayed. The suspicion is that she will need them removed. They have always been large, but she has been battling strep and snoring like a sailor, even her speech is affected. So bye-bye nasty tonsils.

We have this old Bill Cosby cd where he talks about going to get his tonsils out and being promised ice-cream. It is so cute and the kids love the "Ice Cream Song" Things are done differently now, so she probably won't need to stay overnight, but still I know it will be painful for my poor baby.

Meanwhile, she is the cheeriest little thing and you would never know she wasn't feeling 100 percent.

Visit this Blog

Amy Loves China

This is a journal of a woman who is in Xi'an right now working with a medical team to perform surgery on orphans and help in other ways too. I don't know Amy personally, but when I found this blog I knew it should be shared with the Chinese adoption community. Please visit, pass it on and keep the children and this medical team in your prayers.

I miss Tivo

We did have it once, it was awesome. We were what the folks in the biz call 'early adopters'. Oh it was so wonderful! I smile when I hear the special goink Tivo noise on a commercial or someone else's Tivo.

Alas, those days ended all too soon when we went cold turkey on the whole TV thing. For over a year we were a TV free home. Well, we actually had a couple of TVs, no cable or local reception though, just a very busy Netflix account. We sold the thing on ebay (it held it's value pretty well).

We since have moved and I succesfully lobbied for a return to cable, just the basic, basic package though (local channels and about 400 preacher channels) Still I only really watch occasionally. It seems I have become allergic to commercials. I know some are funny etc... but for the most part UGH! There is this one for some foot fungus creme that totally nauseates me. It has the cartoon nasty bug things that crawl under a toenail...eww I can't even type more I am almost gagging.

If I only had Tivo again................

So anyone care to share your most hated commercial? Or all you all part of the lucky ones, the ones with Tivo or DVRs?

End Results

Raising 5 kids 7 and under is hard. I am not gonna lie. I think it would surprise most people though that what Lee and I mostly think about it though is, man this is so fun!

Every day something really wonderful happens with the kids. It could be as huge as Jake winning his class's version of 'top student of the year' award or as small as Luke getting over his fear and having a great first swim lesson. I get to hear jokes and wandering stories and I am the recipient of lots of priceless fine art. I have an endless supply of hugs, kisses and soft baby skin to stroke. In fact it is so common, that I have to force myself to sit and actually take note of how magical and transient these years of parenting are.

Combined with the wonderful things is the not so wonderful daily grind. With 3 small boys, of course the grout around my toilet always looks a tinge yellowish, no matter how much Clorox I use. Mary Clare is so active, I must constantly swoop in and yank her away from danger. Laine is so curious that if I haven't heard her ringing voice in several mineuts I hurry to check my bathroom counter to see if she has been into my make-up or my jewlery box or some of the other forbidden flotsam and jetsum that lure her. I clean the kitchen several times a day and the laundry pile is my constant enemy.

I admit that in that grind I have wished away their childhood and longed for the days when I won't be summoned from far away to wipe someone's bum. I think how nice it will be when Lee and I can take a walk around the block, alone after dinner and hold hands and talk about our day without being interrupted 400 times. Gosh, suddenly just writing that out I feel so weepy. Those days will come sooner than I am prepared for.

Still, I know it is healthy and good to keep my eye on the prize. These kids will grow up, I can't stop them and I have only this time to do my best to give them a foundation for adulthood and for eternal life. I should remember the goal is to raise adults, not children. Adults with sound faith, strong characters and loving hearts who of course adore their parents and are eager to spend holidays with them and provide many grandchildren to spoil.

So I settle in and think on the everyday wonderfulness of these 5 kiddos and continue to battle my evil foe, Mt. Laundry, knowing too soon I will win the war and it will just be two sets of dirty clothes piling up, not seven. *sniff*

Southern Style

Today is the 42nd anniversary of Flannery O'Connor's death. She died young, from lupus. I am not a FO scholar or anything, I just enjoy her writing and think she is extremely interesting.

Amy Welborn has several links to Flannery related articles and sites.

Enjoy!

Geeking out

My name is Tracy and I love Lord of the Rings.

I know I am about two years late to this fad (the most recent LOTR fad surrounding the movies), but that is just par for the course for me. I saw some 70's cartoon of the Hobbit that scared me to death when I was younger and totally turned me off from these books. Anyway when the first movie came out, I saw it on DVD and fell asleep about halfway through. I was not impressed. I did see the second movie in the theater with Lee and his brother, John. It was more exciting, lots of fighting and scary stuff. The third movie tied everything up nicely.

I bought the book on a whim and read the first few hundred pages then stuck a bookmark in it and gave up. That was over a year ago. Then, last week when I had nothing around to read, I picked it up again.

Now I am a LOTR fan and I am almost done with the entire thing. I love the maps and timelines in the book. I could look at them for hours. Even the appendices are imaginative and realistic.

Lee picked up the first two movies for us to see and I enjoyed them so much more after reading the book. The movies were well done and there are only slight changes made that don't affect the overall story as far as I can tell. The worst part of the movies is Elijah Wood. He just icks me out. I hate when he rolls his eyes around to show the temptation of the ring. His portrayal of Frodo is just too soft for me. But, once I got past his breathy "Gandalf!" exclamations I enjoyed the movies.

The reason this story appeals to me is the simplicity of the whole good vs. evil. The good are so very brave and honorable and the evil are truly horrifying and despicable. However, the twist that makes it so compelling is the sense of hope, even in the most dire situations and for the most repellant of creatures, the Gollum. I never really understood why they kept keeping this horrid little thing around. Why not just get rid of him? I could not feel the pity or hope for him, until I read the entire trilogy. I guess they needed him as a guide, but I still felt like it could have been safer and wiser to be free from his creepy threat. In reading the books and maybe being a little more mature I understand more why his character was necessary to the hopeful theme of the story.

Of course I am aware of all of the religious symbolism and stuff but I haven't read any guides or articles exploring that yet. First I have to actually finish the darn thing and see the last movie again.

Well, there is my confession. I am a LOTR geek officially.