a little note

updates

So much has happened since I last blogged. Most importantly, I am now 3 1/2 months pregnant! I am due October 24. It's been a little harder this time around, but I've been feeling much better in the last month. Mostly just tired.
Also, Perry has been working 3 hours away, 4 days a week for the last 4 weeks and will be working there for another 6 weeks or so. He stays at his brothers during the week and comes home on the weekends. The kids and I go up for 2 days at a time usually. Unfortunately, his shifts will be changing to 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. This is really hard because we've never been apart for even 2 nights before and last week it was 4 nights. We are hoping to be able to go away for a little trip this summer.
The boys learned how to ride 2-wheelers a few weeks ago. Gavin has no fear and he got the hang of it a little quicker, but they both were riding on their own within 30 minutes.
My mom is moving to our city next month, which will be really nice to be closer again.
I have been making bread again. I made 2 loaves of No-Knead bread this week- it is so easy! It takes 20-24 hours, but with minimal work.
I've also made homemade pizza crust a couple times in the last few weeks. Today, I made some focaccia, which was really good! I am hoping to try english muffins soon, and maybe bagels. I LOVE making bread. Unlike cookies, where I just do it to have the final product, I think I like making bread more than eating it.
The kids are doing well with their schoolwork. Gavin is learning to read. Ethan may be reading at a third grade level now. I can't believe how well he picks it up. We will technically start the new school year in mid August. We are starting a little early, so that we can take a break after the baby is born. We are doing a mini unit on farms right now and reading Charlotte's Web. Also, we are using a new way of organising our days called workboxes. Usually Ethan has 9 boxes and Gavin has 7. Ethan's are usually filled with things like his reader/workbook, math, social studies, science, language arts etc. but we also add fun things in. Gavin usually has his reading lessons, a read aloud, a puzzle, and some various activities. I'll probably talk more about workboxes in another post.

I should just start naming my posts by date because I never have an easy time chosing even semi-cool titles....

Well, Gavin's attitude got much better after I posted last!
Gavin had his 4th birthday two days ago. The kids decorated cupcakes, we took the kids bowling for the first time (Ethan almost beat me!), we visited with Perry's family and some friends. Gavin wanted pizza for supper, so we got some takeout. It was a fun day! We got Gavin a Curious George reader set and Ethan sat down and read a bunch of the books to Gavin, it was so cute to see that. I have pictures, hopefully I will post them later.

the worst phase ever

is happening right now at our house. Gavin is quite literally being the most difficult that we have ever had to deal with. Our kids have both gone through times were they were stubborn etc. This is brutal. He has to fight EVERY single thing we say. He raises his voice and talks to back to us constantly. We talk about the way he needs to act and he'll agree, but then he's right back to it. I don't know how long I can take it. He gave me a headache tonight, just from the tone of voice. He isn't whining at all, he talks to us like we're the kids and he's a nagging parent... I never had my own parents talk to me like that, I don't need it from my 3 yr old!
Anyway, sorry for the vent.
I can't wait for my sweet little Gavin to come back...

planning

Well, over the holidays I came up with a new way to plan our school days. It is working very well for us. I sat down and came up with all the subjects and areas that I wanted the kids to cover every week. I wrote a guideline for each day and what we would cover, a sort of masterplan. Then I typed up a sheet for each day to fill in the specific things we would be doing (what books we would read, what Math we would do, etc). Usually on the weekend, I will plan the next week out. I just grab a page for each day of the week and look at my masterplan and decide what needs to be done in each area.
Each day's page, books, notebooks and worksheets are all put together in file folders according to day. I just pull out all the stuff I need for that day and highlight everything that we complete as we finish it.
At the end of the day all the worksheets the kids do go into their own binder and we keep them as a sort of portfolio.

Some pics of the kids doing bubble painting:

desi

We think our dog has ruptured her cruciate ligament in her leg. If this is the problem, she would need surgery which would probably cost $1600 plus all the other costs, such as pain medicine, etc. She would have a long recovery time and no guarantees that it is not going to happen again or happen to the other leg.
Anyway, we will likely take her to the vet in the next day or so.
Ethan would be heart broken if we have to put her down. She is his girl, he talks about her all the time. The first thing he does every morning is grab his pillow and lay it beside her crate and talk to her. He keeps praying for her that she will get better.

A Few of My Favourite Things

Mine:
Settlers
Hot chocolate (still)
Dates with Perry
Hot baths

Perry's:
His new gamecube (yes, we are a little behind the times)
King of Queens
Settlers
Candy Cane Lane tea

Ethan's:
Dressing up
Bad guys (unfortunately)
Cheese
Babes in Toyland (the Disney original)

Gavin's:
Gumballs
Milk
Mister Maker (a craft show)
Getting his back stratched (and being very particular about where you scratch it...)

A Simple Woman's Daybook - January 3, 2009

Outside my window...the sun is shining.

I am thinking...how wonderful my family is.

I am thankful for...the fun day that Perry and I got to have for his birthday yesterday.

From the learning rooms...Ethan is learning place value.

From the kitchen...we need groceries!

I am wearing...jeans and layered shirts.

I am creating...more schedules for school.

I am going...to have fun tonight with friends.

I am reading...the Bible- Genesis.

I am hoping...I don't have headaches everyday forever...

I am hearing...the dishwasher.

Around the house...the Christmas decorations are now put away, *sigh*.

One of my favorite things...my husband.

A few plans for the rest of the week: the kids start swimming lessons again and have both moved up a level. Lots of school work, hoping to get back to routine. There are not a lot of plans for the next week. We have friends coming over for dinner and games and maybe time in the hot tub tonight. Maybe we'll take a trip to the library.

Oh, for summer!

Happy New Year!

This is Ethan's shopping list. It says:
Cake
Brownies
Plates
Hot Dogs
Milks
Pop
French Fries
Soup

hello

I just cannot seem to keep this blog updated. I don't spend a lot of time on the computer these days.
We are watching our niece this week. She has been so good, the first day she slept until 9:30!
We had carpet installed 2 days ago- in 2 bedrooms and the family room, then the old family room carpet was installed in the kids toy room in the basement. It was a nightmare taking all the furniture out of those rooms and finding places to put it all!
Ethan is doing really well with his reading. This week I sat down and started a schedule and planning our days in a way that would be easier to achieve and still make sure that we're covering every subject that we need to. Although, it was too busy this week with other things to really get to implement it.
Christmas is in less than two weeks! How did that happen???
Anyway, off to be the teacher!
He's got the cutest lips!

A Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...there is a light dusting of snow and more falling.

I am thinking...about our busy week, what plans to make for homeschooling and how to organise them and our sweet little niece in the hospital.

I am thankful for...my husband and the time we're able to spend with him right now.

From the learning rooms...Ethan is getting better and better at reading every day.

From the kitchen...there is a mess!

I am wearing...jeans and a sweater.

I am creating...sugar cookies soon and other Christmas baking.

I am going...to friends for lunch and to have a date with Perry tonight and to the hospital tomorrow.

I am reading...James Herriot.

I am hoping...to be able to finish everything I need to in the next week.

I am hearing...the Smurfs.

Around the house...we need to tidy.

One of my favorite things...hot chocolate.

A few plans for the rest of the week: I already mentioned some, also- my Aunt's 50th birthday party on Sunday, Perry is writing a test to get into the Boilermakers Union on Monday, we may be watching our niece for the week, we are having carpet installed on Thursday, which means I need to finish painting before that (but when?) among other regular everyday things!

i'm still here...

I have not been very good at blogging lately! The last three weeks have been spent living sometimes at our house and sometimes at Perry's brother's house with his family. Perry has been working at the plant that his brother works at Monday-Friday. He only comes home on the weekends and we go to stay with him about 3 nights a week. It is a little crazy, but we all get along really well. It's the kids who do most of the fighting. They have 3 girls and with our 2 boys we have 5 children under the age of 5! They usually get along really well, but what can you expect with so many small children?
Schooling is a little harder to do with our current circumstance, but I am pretty happy with Ethan's progress. In the last week he has started to sound out words so that he can write them on his own without asking how to spell things. He's done pretty well and we haven't even gotten to that point in his reading/writing lessons. So he's jumped ahead on his own. I'm seeing how many parents chose to unschool their children. That is essentially child led learning- it is amazing what children can do when you let them. Ethan was making 'machines' on the stairs today. He made a hot lava machine and a gumball machine. He was very proud of them!
We made pancakes for lunch today, which the kids really enjoyed.
I had some pics to share but my computer won't read my card...

tomatoes and the fair

Our first tomatoes from our garden:
We went to the fair last week with my sister and my nephew. We couldn't stay very long but the kids had a blast, they love rides! I can't wait until they are big enough to go to Cedar Point! We saw a sheep shearing, a cow milking and lots of animals and their babies.

menu plan Monday (on Tuesday)

*Monday
lunch- Tuna Salad Wraps (approx $4)
supper- Delissio Pizza (approx $6)

*Tuesday
lunch- leftover pizza
supper- spaghetti, cream corn, salad (approx $4.75)

*Wednesday
supper- Hamburger Helper, garlic bread, cauliflower+mushroom soup (approx $4.75)

*Thursday
supper- homemade chili (approx $10-11)

*Friday
supper- Campbell's Chunky soup, homemade dinner rolls (approx $4)

*Saturday
supper- pancakes, bacon, homemade bread (approx $4)

*Sunday
supper- grilled cheese (approx $4.50)

Not necessarily the healthiest list of food, but I am trying to clear out some of the food in the cupboards...

making bread and other things

Perry's 10 year old cousin stayed with us on Sunday night. She is really good with the kids, so it was pretty easy having her here. Maybe easier than when she's not. Although the kids were up 5:45 because they were in the same room...
We made bread yesterday. We baked one loaf and froze three, but I ended up giving A. the one we baked, so we'll be throwing one of the other loaves in the oven today. The kids love to make bread.

Because we had company yesterday, I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted. We didn't read our Bible story for the week, but we did teach the kids their memory verse and song and we talked abut what the story will be. Ethan did his reading lesson and they both had some time to play reading games on the computer.
Today is going to be crazy, too. We have a Not Going Back to School Day at the park at 1pm, a baby sitter to interview at 3:30, a house to clean for Bible study tonight, lessons to do and the list goes on. Hopefully, it will all get done!
Tomorrow night the kids start Wacky Wednesday at the YMCA. They are excited to go back after the summer.

eating for less

I am trying to make a point of spending less money on food. Obviously, eating out costs a lot, so I am trying to make a menu of what we will eat each night and that always seems to help because I'm not wondering at 4 o'clock what I should make for dinner. Right now, I am going to try and use alot of the food that we have in the house. Then I am thinking of trying to do a week of dinners that are $5 or less! If we could do that once a month and still watch what we second the rest of the time, we would save a fortune! I have glanced at this blog and I love the idea and hope to get some meal plans from her, but I haven't had the time to really look through it.
Anyway, I will try to update with our progress and you can see how we make out with this plan/idea/whatever....
One thing I do to save money that I never really thought much about is to make my own chip dip. It's pretty much as easy as buying it and it can be used for veggie dip, too. I'm sure it's a fairly common thing people do, but I thought I would post it anyhow.
Chip/Veggie Dip
500ml (2cups) fat free sour cream
1 pkt dry onion soup mix

Happy Sunday!!


"It is good to give thanks to the Lord." Psalm 92:1

More Costa Rica

Here are a few more pics from our trip. This was a crocodile aafaria and horsebackriding tour! Lots of fun!

finishing the last post and some garden shots

Alright, to finish off where I started the other day. The other subjects I want to cover through out the week are Physical Education, Life Skills, Arts and/or Crafts, Music, Social Studies, and Science.
Life Skills- This would include things like baking, cooking, cleaning, laundry, sewing, money matters, etc. I would like to start baking our own bread every week. I have an awesome recipe that makes 4 loaves, so easily it can be frozen after the second rise and we will be able to have fresh bread all week. Perry used to be a franchisee for a bread company, but sold his route last month, so now we need to buy or make our bread!
Art and/or Crafts- make crafts or study artists.
Music- this one is a little harder to really study, as I don't know anything about music. We will listen to children's song and Bible songs. Maybe next year I will sign Ethan up for some kind of music lesson.
Science- fun little science experiments and simple facts.
Social Studies- looking at maps, learning about people before us and different cultures.
Physical Education- this is another area I don't care to focus too much energy into! the kids are signed up with the YMCA. Every week they attend three programs- 1st Wacky Wednesday (cooking, gym time and play), 2nd swimming lessons, 3rd Junior Y Kids which is kind of like 2 1/2 hrs of preschool, they do crafts, centres, outdoor play, story time, etc.

My goals for this year:
Ethan
-to recognise numbers to 100
-to read simple books
-to start becoming familiar with the scripture
-to become responsible for daily chores
-to improve handwriting
-to learn simple addition and subtraction

Gavin
-to learn letters and sounds
-to count to 100
-to start becoming familiar with the scripture
-to become familiar with months, seasons, calendar, sense of yesterday, today, tomorrow
-to learn phone number and address
-to write name


their version of the yellow brick road:

I had my zoom lense on and couldn't get back far enough to get a pick of our whole vegetable garden, so here's one tomato, lol:

I did not plant these morning glories, but they are gorgeous!:

agenda

Ok, so we are getting ready to 'officially' start school next week. I have made a list of subjects that I think we should cover every day. They are: Bible, reading, handwriting, letters (for Gavin), some small form of math and I also want them to start doing chores every day. Weekly subjects are: life skills (household type things- cooking, etc.), art and/or crafts, music, social studies and physical education.
Of course I will keep in mind that right now they are only 3 and 4 yrs old! If I put Gavin into a school, he would be two years behind Ethan. Now when Ethan went to Junior Kindergarten last year, he was only one month older than Gavin is now, so I have decided to teach Gavin as if he were in Junior Kindergarten and not preshool.
Here is a bit of a rundown of how I plan to follow my outline.
Bible: every week I will focus on teaching the kids one song. The vast majority of the songs we sing are directly from the scriptures and so they are learning to memorize the Bible at the same time and they find it fun, too!
Also, we will have one Bible story or context to learn about each week. And a Bible verse to *try* and memorize that is related either to the song or the story of the week.
We will also have prayer time every morning. Our boys already ask for prayer or pray for people when they are hurt and it is so beautiful to see, I really want to get them into the habit of praying daily for other things.
Reading: We are using the book Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It is a wonderful book, if your child doesn't get bored with repitition. We tried it with Ethan last winter and we got to lesson 7 and it became to much of a struggle, he hated to repeat things over and over. And I am getting that from Gavin now- I don't necessarily think he's ready for it, but because his brother was doing it he wants to try to. Anyway, so I got Ethan to start doing the book again by promising him time on the computer at a website called starfall.com if he completes one lesson. Each lesson takes 10-20 min depending on how easily the child can do the tasks or how much they want to :) Also, each week we will teach Ethan a sight word.
Handwriting: Usually worksheets where they trace and then print the letters on their own. Ethan will be doing copy work which he actually enjoys.
Letters: We watch Leap Frog's letter factory and keep a leter of the week on our cupboards and talk about it's sound. We do activities based on that letter.
Math: Just learning numbers and counting for Gavin. Ethan basic addition and eventually subtraction.
Chores: we are using handipoints.com, but we just started this, so we will see how it goes! They are resposible to brush thier own teeth n the morning, make thier bed, clean their room, put all their toys away, make sure their shoes are in the closet and not to whine all day!
I will have to go into the other stuff another day! We're on our way out now!

"For nothing will be impossible with God." Luke 1:37

Letters

I only have a quick minute, so this will be a short post.
I want to start posting more about homeschooling, since I am officially starting to school the kids now.
Gavin has a lot of trouble remember what letters look like and what sounds they make. I had heard great things about Leap Frog's Letter Factory DVD, so we picked it up a few days ago at Target ($9.99).
The kids love it! I was a little afraid they would find it boring, but they have asked to watch it several times in the last 24 hrs. Gavin has been coming up to me and telling me what sounds the letters make! Ethan keeps encouraging Gavin to tell him the sounds.
I would highly recommend this product, but the only downfall is that the letter 'l' in particular is pronounced very strangely in the video- 'ull'. Other than that it is great!