Friday, October 30, 2009

SCREAMING PEANUT

Cakes, the fashionista of the family, decided that Peanut needed to be a princess today.


In the process, I was able to capture Peanut in her latest phase of development, shrieking happily at the top of her lungs.


It's too bad I didn't get it on video, so you could get the full, ear-piercing effect. I'll have to add that to my to-do list.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

TORNADO WEATHER

It's the tail end of tornado season. I must say, I've gotten to where I can handle it a bit better than when I first moved here. I remember hiding under the table, surrounded by cushions, yelling for my husband to get off the front porch and hide, already! Now, while my neighbor was cowering in her garage in terror, I sent Big Daddy and the cherubs out to take a few pictures and enjoy the breeze while Peanut and I watched from the porch.




Monday, October 26, 2009

THE LATEST PHASE

I feel like I'm so busy all the time that I barely have time to breathe; then, I look around and feel like absolutely nothing has been accomplished. What am I so busy doing? Not writing my blog, that's for certain. Or cleaning and winterizing my slightly greening pool. And the laundry pile is huge, the living room is messy, and I forgot to take my kids to pre-school choir at church last night (and I'm one of the teachers! Yikes!).

Bean just walked by with a doll shoved up her shirt saying, "Hey, Mom! Look! I have a baby in my belly!" I actually caught Bean and Cakes trying to breastfeed each other the other day ... I guess maybe I'm spending most of my time nursing Peanut?

Speaking of Peanut, we've entered a delightful new phase in her development. She has discovered her voice, and spends 90% of the day (and night) gleefully emitting blood-curdling screams at the top of her lungs. I'm hoping that she will soon discover something quiet, like her feet.

Friday, October 2, 2009

SAXON MATH

As my readers know, I'm a homeschooler. I started homeschooling Bean this year for Pre-K. I felt that I was kind of short-changing her on math, since I wasn't following any particular curriculum and was just working with her on counting, basic addition and subtraction, etc. Not being much of a math person myself (I am a math idiot), I thought it would be best if I got a curriculum to guide me through the murky waters of Kindergarten Mathematics.

I researched several different math curriculums (Singapore Math, A Beka Book, etc.) and consulted my crazy-about-math, asks-for-math-textbooks-for-Christmas, ex-high-school-math-teacher sister-in-law. And so, I settled on Saxon Math Homeschool. And I love it!

The teacher's book is scripted, so even a math moron like yours truly can easily teach the lesson with minimal effort. The curriculum requires the manipulatives kit, but that kit contains all the manipulatives needed for Kindergarten through third grade! And each lesson involves manipulatives, which is perfect for my little hands-on learner. I think math is her favorite subject now! The lessons are not too long, are age appropriate, and provide plenty of time to explore the manipulatives while still teaching basic math concepts and applying them to real life.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

MORTIFYING MOMMY MOMENT


We all went to Aunt LeeAnn's house for haircuts. It was a momentous occasion, because it was Cakes' very first haircut.

She did very well, although she looked pretty intense throughout the procedure.

After the girls got their hair cut, they went to play with Aunt LeeAnn's youngest daughter while I got my hair cut, colored, and styled. We heard my cherubs telling Aunt LeeAnn's little muffin about decorating. I laughed, explaining that "decorating" at my house meant the kids were coloring on the walls, and I joked with Aunt LeeAnn that I should buy stock in Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.

After my hair was done, I went upstairs to collect my girls. And was mortified to see this.

And this.


And this.


And this.


And this.


And now, all playdates must be prefaced with, "And DO NOT color on the walls!"