Today Was A Very Pumpkin-y Day!

Today was Friday Dessert Day. And since it's September, and September means Fall, and Fall means Pumpkins, and Pumpkins mean Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting, that's what we made! :) Recipe I found last year and fell completely in love with here: http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2009/10/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-cinnamon-brown-sugar-buttercream/

Colin, at another point today, found some orange fabric in my fabric stash that I'd gotten down a couple nights ago. He pulled it out and said, "Mom! Let's make pumpkins!" My first thought was a resounding NO for many reasons, but I said yes, and it was actually pretty fun. I thought over a couple different possible designs, then started looking online for an actual pattern. I found one that was actually really simple- and made one for each kid!


I used this pattern http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/10/garden-fresh-fabric-tomatoes.html as the basis, made them a little bigger (I traced my biggest mixing bowl), and then changed the top to make them pumpkins instead of tomatoes. Colin, Brennan, and Kailey all traced the bowl for theirs mostly on their own, then I cut them out, and did the sewing, and they stuffed them. They also chose the fabric to be right side out or inside out, and chose the color for the tops. All three of them wanted theirs the same, leaves out with the green top. Bella's I made leaves out with a brown top, and then Nick's is the one plain side out with a brown top. Aren't they so cute?

Thoughts, Contemplations, and Mind-Meanderings

Warning: You're looking inside my brain here. Things may not be completely coherent/worded correctly, or in the order they would be if I were to write out a list of my "educational goals", and some things may be glaringly missing. I'm just jotting down some of the thoughts I have about this upcoming schoolyear, to get them straight in my own head. No bashing, please :)

With the start of a new school year, and this being the first year Colin is actually "of school age", I've been thinking a lot more than usual about what I want my kids to learn, what I want to teach them, and how. I believe, especially at these tender ages, that less is more when it comes to school work. Before I've even started officially "schooling" him, Colin has started teaching himself to read, and knows basic math to a degree. He has me constantly spelling words to him, even though, so far, he can only write his name (which he didn't even want to practice doing, just one day said, "Mommy, I wrote my name!" And he had!) He's taking dance classes, and wants to start several sports- baseball, soccer, and bowling have all been requested within the last week. The kids all love singing, listening to music, and reading stories. But what do I want to teach them?

So far, through reading books by the truckload, our constant field trips, answering their questions in as much detail as they want, and letting them explore and discover on their own, I think they're on track for where they "should" be, if they were getting a boxed-curriculum education. Okay, well, Colin more than the other two. But I don't see how to divide educating one from educating all three, because the other two are going to pick up on what the one learns, to some degree or another. Matthew and I have talked about getting the Math-U-See curriculum for math, when we can afford it (Christmas present, anybody?) I want to up our field trips this year, if possible, or at least expand them a little bit to more than the Aquarium and rounds of the parks! We actually are in the process of getting a trip to Mike's Farm planned with a play group we're a part of. Mike's Farm is a big, well, farm, that does seasonal things- strawberry picking, pumpkin patch, Christmas light show, as well as educational field trips for schools and other groups.

I want them to learn at least one other language. We're starting on Russian, because Matthew speaks it, and that will make it that much easier. He's wanting me to learn Pashto so he can keep his fluency in it, so they may end up learning that sooner or later, too. I would love to learn Hebrew and Greek alongside them someday, and maybe other languages, too. Spanish would be useful, French or German might be nice. Really, whatever languages they take a fancy to. After you get over the initial language barrier it's easier to pick up additional languages. Why not learn as many as possible? Who knows what their futures will hold? Knowing at least one additional language will open up so many more possibilities for them!

Most importantly, I want to teach them to love God, to pray, to memorize Bible verses, and read the Bible. I don't think I've been doing as well on that score as I could be, because I don't think I'm as close to God right now as I could be. That needs to change for me to instill those values in them. We've started reading a missionary story called It's A Jungle Out There, written by a man who grew up in the jungles of South America while his parents worked there as missionaries. The day after reading that he and his brother rode a log down a river and nearly killed themselves, Brennan jumped out of a fallen tree in our front yard, and hurt his leg. Maybe that isn't the best story to read them. But...

I want to teach them courage, respect, compassion, responsibility, perseverance, honesty, self-control, and more. I want to teach them to be virtuous. Most people forget those things when they talk about educating a child. I think they are even more important than teaching the three R's (which most people today also struggle with!) By the time they're grown, I want them to know how to budget, how to cook and keep their house clean, how to write fluently. I want them to always have a book that they're reading. I want them to be men who are respected by those around them. I want them to live their lives completely for God. I'll use whatever means and methods I can to help them learn those things :)

Home Again

Here we are. Moved again, Matthew is back from deployment and training and everything else that has kept him away for over a year, back from evacuating from Hurricane Irene. Home again.

I'm keeping this year low-key in regards to "schooly" things we do. Colin is currently teaching himself to read, understands basic math concepts, takes dance classes, and asks questions about anything and everything he sees. We read lots of stories in a variety of subjects, depending on the season, current interests, and what we find at the library, and most of them are nonfiction. And never forget the field trips! We haven't been doing as many lately, because of heat and exhaustion and gas prices and See First Paragraph. But, we've been having fun at home, and learning has been happening when I least expect it!

Brennan has hurt himself again, jumping out of a tree. I keep wondering when he'll learn that jumping is NOT a good idea! X-rays didn't show a break, but it's the same leg that he broke earlier this year. They put a splint on it, and said to bring him back by next week if it continues hurting. He's still refusing to walk on it, so we'll probably have to.

Nikolai is starting to talk. He's only got a few words, and those aren't distinguishable to most people without REALLY listening. "oosh" for "shoes", "ah-sss" for "ice", "ta-da!" when he gets something he wants, and he goes around saying "deedle-eedle-ee" to just about everything. No "ga-ga goo-goo" for this baby! Trilling is much more fun!

I'm hoping to do a weekly post to keep tabs on what we're up to, and to start logging some of our "schooly" things. I'm also hoping to start them on a chore chart again, so we'll see how that goes!

Until our next adventure,

-Amanda -_-*

Cooking With Children (and a summary of our day)

Today was fun. I don't know how I can say that in a day that was mostly spent doing errands and housework, but we made it a fun day, anyway. The kids have been going a little bit nuts, since there's been a wildfire burning for over a week, and it's too smokey outside for them to go out most days. Energy has been at an all-time high, so to give them a chance to at least get out of the house, we all went to Sam's Club this morning. Nick fell asleep in the car on the way home, and I sat in there with him after we got back, and had some pretty good time to myself. It's crazy that I have to sit in the car just to get a few minutes' peace! Tiffany was inside, and the kids still kept coming out to me to ask if they could have more lunch, or do this, or do that, and it was like, "Enough already!" But at least they didn't wake Nick up this time.

This afternoon, amidst playing and cleaning and making enough paper airplanes and boats to restock the Air Force and Navy, I put in Jean Butler's Irish Dance Masterclass for them. Colin and Kailey have been wanting to take dance classes lately, and that at least gave them a taste of what it would be like, as well as some other cool extra features. They had a great time!

The kids have been learning to make bread. I'm hoping that I'll be able to put Colin in charge of that task within another year or so, after he gets a little better at reading. He's already showing an interest in cooking, probably in part because I keep telling him the things I was cooking at five years old! We made instant potato bread (in the bread machine) today. The kids just dump in the ingredients, although last time when it was only Colin helping me, I let him measure the flour. He scooped it up, swiped the top with his hand, then wiped his hand on his shirt as he poured the flour into the bread pan before I could even say anything!

For Friday Dessert Day today, we made ice cream in a baggie. We got the recipe from here: http://crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag.html I had some of my chocolate almond milk ice cream, since I can't have dairy anymore. The almond ice cream is pretty good. The consistency is right, the flavor was good. It had a very strong almond taste, which was good with the chocolate, but I think the chocolate coconut milk ice cream was a more neutral chocolate taste. I'll probably go back and forth between the two depending on what I feel like. I didn't like the rice milk ice cream- it seemed too sticky, syrupy, I guess you would say, though you got used to it after a few bites. And soy is just gross. BUT, that's not what I was saying. The kids loved our ice cream project. And then we made brownies, just because. Do you need a reason to make brownies?

Also, Matthew called today. Colin got to talk to him, and was so happy about it! Brennan was being a little grump, and had already been pouting before I tried giving him the phone, so he just sat there and didn't say anything. I think he should have had a nap.

When we read bedtime stories tonight, we were in the kids' bedroom. Brennan's bed is just a mattress on the floor, since Bella and Nick are in the two cribs that convert to toddler beds, and Brennan still falls out of bed on a regular basis, so him being on the bottom bunk with Colin wasn't working. Nick and Bella were sitting side-by-side on Brennan's mattress, feet on the ground, and Nick started bouncing and bouncing. He bounced for probably most of two stories, getting up in the middle to take the first book from me that I finished, then he went back over, sat back down, and started bouncing again, like he couldn't sit still to save his life. He probably can't! It's so much fun having boys! I love the energy and enthusiasm they bring into everything they do. It's so much fun watching them play, even if it does mean dirt and water everywhere, and them having to change their clothes three times a day (or more!).

Well, I think that's all for tonight. Happy Independence Day!

A Whale of a Tale or Two... or Three!

Today has been full of adventures. Okay, maybe not "full", but there have been a few pretty good stories to come out of it.

This morning, all the kids woke up super-early like they have been now that summer's nearly here, and the sun is rising earlier, and I was able, for the first time since moving to North Carolina, to get everyone dressed, fed, and ready for the early service at church. Amazing, isn't it? Anyway, continuing on, it gets better. I sent Colin, Brennan, and Kailey outside while I got Nick and the last couple things (Tiffany stayed home with Bella), and got out the door. While I was doing so, the kids found "candy leaves" somewhere in the front yard. As I was shooing everyone to the car and realizing "candy leaves" is probably something they should not be eating, Brennan starts waving one at me, and I see that it's a leaf covered in bug eggs. That, yes, they had been eating. Candy button-style.

Tiffany freaked out about it when I told her after church more than I did. I'm used to such things with the boys. She, on the other hand, has girls. Kailey was horrified when Tiffany asked her if she'd eaten any. "Colin and Brennan were, I wasn't!" Lol!

Moving on to story 2, I got Colin some baseball stuff for his birthday, and we've been playing every once in a while (that kid is a natural. On his birthday, he'd never held a bat before, and by that afternoon was hitting balls across the street). We played a little more this evening. He's attempting to learn how to bat while I'm attempting to learn how to pitch, and trying to remember everything I overheard while Nathan was in Little League about how to hold a bat, and all the rest. Brennan and Nick were running around, Brennan wanted a turn to bat, so I pitched a little to him. His "hits" are me miraculously hitting the bat when I throw the ball, but he thinks it's spectacular. When he swings the bat, it's usually vertically, and even then it's not for every pitch. But the boys were having fun, and I'd pitched all the balls to each of them a couple times, then Nick starts walking around and picking up all the balls while I was still pitching, and putting them back in my bucket! He did that for most of the rest of the time we were playing! It was so cute, watching him in his little I-just-started-walking fashion, picking up those balls. And then when he got tired of that, he took the bat Brennan had been using, and started walking around with it. I tried getting him to stand still so I could toss a couple balls to him, but he didn't want to.

Also today, the kids wanted to fingerpaint. They didn't understand that that meant using your fingers to paint. Colin had an orange glove all the way up to his shirt sleeve, and Brennan's hand was covered in red. Then Kailey had to join in the fun with blue and white. Kids! At least we know they'll have fun when we make Matthew's homecoming signs! And, this is why I only buy Crayola!

Review of Teddy's Button

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Lamplighter Publishing is giving me a free copy of Teddy's Button by Amy LeFeuvre for reading it and posting a review on my blog. I read it to Colin (4 years old) during Circle Time in the morning, one chapter a day. We finished it yesterday, because he wanted me to read another chapter before dinner. Who's going to say 'no' when their kid asks them to read to them?!

Although it is a chapter book, Teddy's Button is age-appropriate to read to kids probably about three and up. Brennan (two years old) wasn't very interested, so I let him run off to play when I started reading it to Colin. Reading on their own, it's not a beginning-reader book, but most kids who are proficient at reading would be able to enjoy it, maybe needing some help with the big words. One thing I like about Lamplighter's books is that the harder vocabulary words are defined at the bottom of each page, as are the references to Bible verses mentioned in the text.

As the story begins, Teddy tells the story of his father, who was a soldier and was killed in battle while bravely standing against the enemy. When his body was brought home, there was only one button left on his jacket, which has since become Teddy's prized possession. Teddy is also set on becoming a soldier when he grows up.

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A new girl, Nancy, comes to the village, and she doesn't believe the story of the button. Her father is a sailor, and she insists that sailors are better than soldiers. This becomes a source of contention between the two.

Mr. Upton, the rector of the village church, invites Teddy over for tea one Sunday after witnessing an encounter between him and Nancy. Mr. Upton tells Teddy about Christ, who wants him to be a soldier in His army, and tells him what he needs to do to enlist. Teddy goes home to think about it, and later, by himself, accepts Christ as his Saviour. This is a turning point in his life.

Teddy befriends Nancy, starts telling everyone about Christ, and tries to stop playing many of the tricks he used to play. He doesn't always do good, however. His greatest enemy is Bully, the name he has chosen for the bad side of himself. Nancy has not accepted Christ as Saviour, because she wants to be a sailor in God's army, and says she will never be a soldier.

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The climax of the story happens because Teddy is fighting with Nancy. Nancy takes his button from him, and he tries yanking it out of her hands. He succeeds, but the button ends up flying into the river. Without a thought, Teddy jumps into the river after it, and hits his head on the bottom. A passing farmer rescues him, and brings him to the doctor, but Teddy hangs between life and death for days.

Does Teddy live? What happens to Nancy? Is the button ever found? Read the story yourself and find out!

Blueberries!

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We went blueberry picking this weekend. One of my friends told me about this blueberry farm about 45 minutes away that had you-pick blueberries for $1 per pound. That's such a great price, and getting to pick them yourself! I knew it would be a lot of fun, so Heather and I brought the boys on Saturday. We got there around 9:45, and ended up picking for about three hours. We had never been to pick blueberries before, and were surprised at the way they grew. Blueberries grow on large bushes, averaging maybe 6-7 feet tall, in clusters kind of like grapes. To pick them, you just run your hand along the branch. The ripe ones will fall into your bucket, the unripe ones will stay on the bush to ripen.

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Colin and Brennan found another little boy, and the three of them played together for a time, drawing in the dirt with sticks, running around, and playing hide and seek in the blueberry bushes. Niko sat in the stroller for a good while, until he got hungry and wanted out. I held him for a bit while I continued to pick berries, and I'm not sure if a berry fell into my hand (the one that was holding him), or if he'd grabbed one off of the bush (this baby seriously has the best hand-eye coordination of any 6-month-old I've seen). In either case, I found him nom-ing a blueberry against my fingers. I fed him several blueberries that way, and he seemed to like them. He ended up with a diaper rash and spitting up the rest of the day, though. Today when I gave him a couple more blueberries, the spitting-up started almost immediately. Poor guy :( He just isn't ready for solid foods, yet.

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We took a break for a while when Colin and Brennan got tired, and ate peanut butter sandwiches by the car. And then we picked even more! When we finally finished, we had three pails full of blueberries, plus some Colin and Brennan had each picked in their pails.

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Colin ran ahead as we were bringing our blueberries to get weighed and pay. The man at the booth poured Colin's into a box and gave it to him, free. He had about a pound, maybe a little more. I was impressed he'd picked so many! Then he gave Brennan the little bucket he had with the (dozen?) blueberries in it, free. Bennan had eaten most of the blueberries he picked! It reminded me of a story I read to the boys last year, Blueberries for Sal.

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Heather and I gave our berries to the man, and he weighed them at about 18 pounds. We'd talked to him for a few minutes prior, and he'd seen the Marine Corps bumper stickers on our van. So he asked if we were military, and I told him my husband was a Marine. He said, "Okay, I'll give you a military discount. How does $5 sound?" He gave us 19 pounds of blueberries for $5! I was so excited! We thanked him, of course, and paid, and got all of the boys 'n' berries in the car. I gave Colin and Brennan a cup of berries to eat on the way home, but those poor guys fell asleep almost as soon as we started driving.

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After we got home, I sorted through the berries, and put them all in baggies. We filled 9 1/2 quart baggies! Most of them went into the freezer, but I left some out to munch on, and some to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Yum!

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