When does this kid sleep!!

Isabella has become very anti sleep lately. It seems we can get her up at the crack of dawn and she is up and playing ALL day! I can't convince her to nap and she stays up singing in her bed untill late. I wish I had that much energy!!

I am hoping naptime comes back!!! But I am not crossing my fingers either!

A Walk in the Park

Jacob and the girls took a walk yesterday afternoon while I was at work. Jacob took the camera along and I thought the photo he took was too cute not to share!

She's At It Again...

OR should I say still at it!

Not only is she climbing on things but she is sitting in anything she can fit her cute little tushy in.

This is a little foot stool we use to keep books in. Iyla just cleared it out and climbed in.

I caught her in the dishwasher yesterday!! She was trying to get to the sippy cups!!

She wasn't too happy with a wet bottom when I pulled her out of the dishwasher. ( PS. this is NOT how the dishwasher got broken. It's having a hard time wanting to drain)

BUSTED!!!!

How We Started Homeschooling

I have been talking with a friend of mine about our decision to homeschool. She seemed very interested and wanted to know why we started and what we do. So here is some of my thoughts on homeschooling for our family.
I love homeschooling. I love that we can move at our child's pace. It makes me so sad to think that her learning could be stunted because the class she would be in can only move as fast as the slowest student. That's one of the great things about homeschooling. Isabella is 3 and doing kindergarten work. We love it and she seems to be really progressing. But the important thing is it's at her speed. I am not waiting another 2 years to teach her things just because it's been decided that children not enter formal education until the age of at least 5.

 

 

 

Now you many not think about it but just being a mom is starting homeschooling. Taking time to explain things to your child, finding those teachable moments and running with it. We do that kind of thing all the time. For example, we were walking to the DR's office on a rainy day and saw a worm on the sidewalk. Isabella nelt down to take a look and asked me what it was. That simple question turned into a 3 day unit about bugs. When they are little you can just go with whatever they want to learn about and dive a little deeper. If they show intrest in something and you as a parent get excited about it then they will naturally want to know more. That's a great tool to use to kind of bend their intrests to what you want to teach. We started out just having a daily routine. Get up get dressed have breakfast, then turn on some music and lay out a blanket. we would have some rug time. We sang songs, read books, did finger plays and played with toys. As she got a bit older, around 18 months or so, I would have a little theme with our play time. Like sunshine. All the toys would be yellow, the story would be about the sun. we would color a sunshine. sing "Mr.Sun" We would talk about the sun being a circle and circles are round and the sun yellow. The sun is in the sky and it makes us warm. That kind of thing. The next step I took was getting some coloring type books at the dollar tree ( that store is a great place for teaching supplies) and using them. It kind of naturally evolved from there. as she was ready to move up we would. If she was enjoying whatever topic we were learning about we would slow down a bit.

 

 

 

Now I don't know about where you live but I would suggest finding a homeschool association for your state. They would help you figure out what legally you would need to do. Here in Washington state enrollment in school is not required until the age of 8 so I don't even have to let the schools know she exsists until then. At that point I have to give them her name and birthdate,and my name on an intent to homeschool form, and fulfill one of three requirements. I have to have a 4 year degree, have someone personally check on her who works for a district in the state (like a friend in the ward who is a teacher) or take a course on how to homeschool. She then needs to be assesed(sp) once a year by me and I need to keep a record just in case she ever needs to be enrolled in public school. I have a kindergarten reddiness list I found online to kind of help me keep on track as far as what she needs to learn.

 

 

 

When it comes the middle and high school, I figured whatever I don't know I could learn along with them, or get a tutor. One thing that is great about this state is we have duel enrollment rights. Since we pay taxes and taxes fund the school, we have the right to send our kids to school for as long or short of time as we want. So let's say Isabella wants to learn a higher math. I could send her to school for 1 peroid a day. Or she could be on a school sports team or in the band. I don't think every state has that. That would be another thing to look into.

 

I am really looking forward to teaching my girls to read, do math and everything else. I get to see them learn. I get to be there when the light bulb goes on and the understand concepts. I hope you find as much joy in homeschooling as I do.

 

 

 

a few of the top of my head pointers

 

 

 

• -if there is a homeschool conferance in your area... GO!! The have curriculum vendors there and a lot of other great rescorces.

 

 

 

• -Become friends with the library.. They might have a teacher section with books and other information

 

 

 

• -Get a community calender... field trip ideas

 

 

 

• -use the internet. there are some companies that have free online videos that help re-enforce concepts. there are also a ton of blogging homeschool mommies

 

 

 

• -get a barnes and nobles teacher's card. They are a 10 percent discount card and the give them to homeschool moms.

 

• find out what your friends are good at. bardering talents is an awesome ie. I'll teach your kid math if you teach them piano

 

 

 

• -don't stress if your lesson is not perfect.

 

 

 

• -l LOVE LOVE LOVE that I can use the Gospel in every part of teaching my girls. When I was a preschool teacher that was the one thing that was off limits. but with my girls I can teach about Jesus to my hearts content!

 

My Almost Handy Man

Our dishwasher is broken. And I don't mean Jacob's hands! Yesterday I found a HUGE puddle in our kitchen. I was not very happy about it to day the least. Iyla on the other hand thought it was great fun and decided to splash in the dish water! We were in a hurry so we cleaned it up and left for whatever adventure we were about to go on. When we got home I started to do little things around the house and had totally forgot about the dishwasher. I found a dish in the bathroom and went to take it into the kitchen and you'll never guess what I found. A pair of legs and a torso coming out of the dishwasher!! Jacob, who has never worked on a major appliance was trying his hand at dishwasher repair. He tinkered around for while but to no avail. So tomorrow I get to have the manager come take a look. Yippie!!

Jacob was such a sport to try and fix the dishwasher. I think he would try to fix anything. An that makes me happy!

My Little Climber

I don't know if I should be upset or proud? Yesterday after breakfast I guess I wasn't fast enough clearing off the table. I turned around and Iyla had climbed up the chair and was standing on it feeding herself applesauce!

A few thoughts ran through my head...

1. how the heck did she get up there?

2. is she using that spoon !!

                    

3. I guess she's NOT done eating          

                              

                                                      4. Man she's cute!

My little baby is growing up so fast! She is starting Nursery next month. How time flys!!! 

Jacob's Mini Makeover

Being a busy mom I have neglected Jacob's hair for some time now and it was starting to have a mind of it's own. I have been cutting Jacob's hair ever since we were married. And it has been an adventure for both of us! I think I do a pretty good job for the most part.  And it has saved us a ton of money. An average men's haircut is about 15 dollars. Men get their hair cut about monthly. Jacob and I have been married for 4 and 1/2 years. That's 54 months x $15.00. The total  is $810. That's a lot of money!!!

Last night after the girls went to bed I did Jacob's hair. When Jacob was little he had very blonde hair. As he gets older it's turning brownish. Right now it's about the color of whole wheat bread. Jacob describes it as mousy. So we decided to color his hair to be a bit blonder. His hair is really thick was so long that dying it was a bit of a challenge. It brought me back to the days when I used to dye my sisters hair. After I dyed it I cut it. Cutting Jacob's hair is not nearly as intimidating as it was when I first started doing it. I remember when I was pregnant with Isabella I could not get it right and ended up in tears thinking I was making him look horrible. But after some encouraging words from Jacob I finished and he looked just fine. Nowadays I can get his hair done with out freaking out. I kind of like doing it now it's just finding the time. Here are the before and after shots...

Hansome little devil!!

Rolling with the Homies!!

Sunshine!! And I'm not talking about my sister in law either!! Today the sun came out to play and we took advantage of it as best as we could! We went outside and let the girls run around and dig in the dirt. Iyla loved it! Today was the first time she has gotten her hands into the dirt.  

While I was outside I noticed on of my hyacinths is coming up! Last I checked it's only January! It has been very warm here lately. Today it was close to 60 degrees out.  I don't know if there is anything I can do about it either. The roses are starting to grow a bit too! Yikes!!

My friend Stephanie came over and we really wanted to make the most of the great weather and took the kids out. It was great to take a walk in the sunshine! My and Steph's kids are great friends and they had a blast riding in the strollers together. They kept waving to each other and giggling!

After our walk we had a very fun playdate and lunch... hot dogs all around!! I love it when the sunshines!!

WindStorm!

Sunday night we had a pretty big windstorm. It was strong enough to blow trees down and re-arrange patio furniture. And as many of you know, the trees here in the pacific northwest are pretty huge so when trees are blowing down then you know the wind was strong! We lost power for about 16 hours! We went over to mom's house to enjoy her power and working oven! We finally took down her Christmas decorations and got some cooking done for her.

Explaining a power outage to a 3 year old is very entertaining. Isabella kept insisting that ALL of the light bulbs MUST be broken and I just needed to change them so we could see! She is so funny! We all survived the 65 to 70 mile an hour winds and are very excited for whatever else Mother nature has in store for us! (Snow maybe???)

Popcorn Divas!

My girls are popcorn lovers! I don't think I have ever seen two girls more in love with popcorn! It is so fun watching how excited they get when I pull out the popper. We love our stove top popper! It makes great popcorn and I can make a ton for just pennies that is dairy free for Bella!! After I make the popcorn we love cuddling on the couch and watching a movie. The girls have fun feeding each other and trying to balance it on there nose. We love spending time together and usually popcorn night is Sunday night. We all look forward to popcorn night!! Maybe next time I will remember to take some pictures!

Next Month Is Febuary...

This past 6 months have been, to say the least, a tad trying on me. So much has gone on emotionally. Going through a loss is really hard and I still have moments when it's hard. After I lost the baby I had a very good friend bring me flowers and a box of treats. It really ment a lot to me. I took a picture of it then so I would be sure to remember.

Next month is Febuary...

 Next month I would have been having a baby...

 Next month is going to be hard...

Today is not next month...

Today I am ok...

and that's all the matters.

My Friends

When I was thinking about what to blog about today the first thing that popped into my head were my firends. I have the best friends ever! I count my friends as one of my most precious blessings. I don't mean to brag, but I have the most amazing friends anyone could dream of having. I love them all so much!! I don't think I have a single person in my life I don't consider my friend. I know that might seem weird but I do try to love everyone like they are my brother or sister because, well, they are!! I love being able to share my life with those who are in it.

I have new friends, old friends and some in between. My 10 year high school reunion is coming up soon and I have been thinking a lot about those times and the people I knew. Someone started a facebook page to start spreading the word about the reunion. After I joined I looked at all the others that have joined as well. I was suprised that I recognized so few of them and those I did, I remebered so strongly how I felt about them way back then. It's amazing to me that after all this time those old feelings can still creep up. On the list I saw former star football players, cheerleaders, fellow choir members, band kids, and everyone in between. I have fond memories of each recoginizable face. I don't know what they all thought of me however. I would hope that when they see my picture a smile comes to their face!

I love the fact that I am married to my best friend. Jacob is the best husband I could ever ask for. He is so supportive and kind and just amazing. I love that he holds the priesthood and we are able to have the priesthood in our home. I love his family. I tell people all the time I have the best in-laws (and I am not just saying that because they read this blog either!!) They are loving and fun and I think they like me too!

 

I have to say, my life is so richly blessed by my friends. They are there. Period. Any time, day or night. My one hope is that I can be as good of a friend to them as they are to me!

Bread Making Workshop

On Wednesday Kandle and I taught a bread baking workshop at Church. We had a great time and I think everyone who went learned something! At least I hope they did. I am the first to admit I am not a bread expert but along the way, I have learned some pretty cool tips and I love sharing them.

we started out in the kitchen and Kandle showed us how she prepares bread dough for baking. Then we went into the classroom and I talked about how you can make flour out if wheat berries. I showed the ladies how to use wheat grinders of different kinds and talked about yeast tips and that kind of thing.

Here is  the display I made. I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to iron the table cloth. I am not a major prefectionist but it bugs me when I forget to do things that really wanted to do.

I made some of my pumpkin bread and Kandle had some of her bread there and after the meeting we were able to enjoy some really yummy bread.

For all the tips and tricks from the evening check out my hints blog.

Iyla the Bucket Lady!!

I think it's so funny that babies love being in buckets!! Iyla love being in anything small and tiny! I have caught her in all sorts of places. Unfortunatly I don't always have a camera. Here are a few of my favs!

This one is the best! We were at my mom's house for the day. My mom has cleaned out her bottom few drawers for Iyla to play in. Iyla decided on t his visit to clear out all the contents of the drawer and climb right in! She was so proud of herself for getting in! But when she was done she couldn't figure out how to get out and started screaming! It was so funny!

She finally figured it out and was able to get out ok!

I love my Iyla so much. She is such a blessing in our family and brings us all so much joy!!

Dino-Mite!!

   I  LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!!!  For school we are working on a dinosaur unit.Unit study is what works for Bella and it's the easiest for me to teach. I love writing her lessons every week and watching her learn. It's fun to take the stuff she is into at the moment (dinosaurs) and center her learning around it. We started this unit about 2 weeks ago. We have been talking about habitats and classifying animals by what they eat. we also have been doing dino math!

 Today was our project day for our unit. I try to have one big project for every unit we do. Today, we made a plaster model of a T-Rex tooth and then excavated it just like a real archeloigist!

I bought a kit at the Dino Musuem at Thanksgiving Point in Utah about 6 years ago when I was a teacher for my students. I never got around to using it but kept it. I found it about a year ago in a box and stuck it with all the other school stuff. I am so glad I did because it fit perfectly with what we are learning about.

Here is the Kit!

I also picked up this fossil of a mollusk. Isabella really loved having her own fossil!

Here is our little dino lover! ready to get started

The kit had a mold, instructions, and casting plaster

After mixing the plaster we poured it into the mold

After about 20 minutes it was done and we were able break off the excess.

Isabella was so excited. Also she was amazed how much bigger the T-Rex tooth was to her own.

Our beautiful tooth!

Isabella colored the tooth purple.

Ater it was colored we buried it it "dirt" (flour).

Then we talked about how scientists found dinosaur bones in the ground and about what tools they used. For Isabella, we used a large brush, a small brush and a toothpick.

Isabella started out with the large brush to find the tooth

once she found it she swithced to the small brush to clear the "dirt" from the sides of the tooth.

Then she used the toothpick to clean out the small corners.

YAY!! Isabella excavated her first 'fossil'! It was such a fun project for us to do.

MormonBlogs.org

I have decided to branch out with my blog a bit. I know it's going to be a bit of a challange but I think I am up for it. I am going to start to blog daily. I have seen from some other blogs that I follow that daily blogging truly can bless the lives of those who blog and those who read them. I certinly have enough to blog about! This family is always doing something!

I would also like to welcome mormonblogs.org! They are now listing this blog on their site!! If you are in the reading mood, they have a TON of great blogs about a lot of different subjects from self reliance to scriptures, to homemaking! It's really great to read and learn for such amazing people. I feel so blessed to be a part of the site.

I hope you all enjoy the blog! Come back tomorrow!

Bye Bye Bottle, Hello Climbing Toy!

I think I can say finally Iyla is off the bottle! I am super excited about it too. It has been a hard struggle but we are FINALLY done with it. I know everyone always says each kid is different and will do things in their own time but this bottle thing has been driving me nuts!! Isabella was off the bottle at 10 months and Iyla is 16 months. It seemed every time we were close to getting rid of it something would come up! But I think now it's gone! Iyla has not had a bottle since Thursday, nor has she asked for one. The pacifier however... that is another story!

Iyla's other habit is climbing. I know all toddlers do it. Some more then others. Our girl Iyla LOVES to climb. It's getting to the point where I am very worried she just might break a bone!!

Now for those of you who have not visited my home lately, our answering machine sits next to the printer on our computer table upper shelf. The computer table is close to the entry way to our home. The entry way floor is VERY hard tile. Now with that in mind I'll tell you a little story. I was helping Isabella with something a few days ago and heard the anwsering machine making beeping noises. I looked over at the computer table and there, standing on the glass computer table top on the tile side was Iyla and she was leaning over to push the buttons on the answering machine. I totally freaked out and ran over an grabbed her. After telling her no in the stearnest voice I could muster I set her down and put the chair in my bedroom and had a little cry out. I haven't been that scared for her since she was burned. Well, the next evening I finished checking my e-mail and went to lay down in my room. Jacob had both girls in their bedroom and was reading them a story. All of a sudden I heard a loud thump and Iyla was screaming. All mom's can tell by their children's cry if it's just a skinned knee, a hurt ego, or a "oh my goodness that hurt" cry. Well Iyla let out her best version of the latter and I knew this was bad. I ran out of my room as Jacob was running out of the girls room. Jacob had let Iyla get down from story time and I had forgot to put the chair back in my room. I found her lying on the tile by the computer, with a mouth full of blood! I grabbed her and rushed to the bathroom and washed her mouth out. I had flashed of ER's and burn units racing through my mind. Iyla was screaming, I was crying and Jacob was standing there holding a towel not quite knowing what to do. I got the blood cleaned up and looked her over. The bleeding stopped rather quickly to discover she just had a small cut on her upper lip. Thank goodness! After looking her over several times we only noticed a small briuse on her knee. We think she must have slipped trying to get up.

After we got everyone calmed down and dryed off, we let her play for a while. She acted just fine and was laughing and playing. I kept her up until 11:30 that night just to make sure she was ok. The next day we had a playdate at a friends house. When we came home, I saw a huge "Little Tikes" box. I told Jacob "oh no... how much did you spend!" "I was pricing things at work and found this marked down to 90% off so I got it for $6.99 instread of $69.99" That is a price I can love! We quickly set up our new "Climb & Slide Castle" and let Iyla go for it.

She loves tht  thing and plays on it all the time. I love it because she can get all the climbing out of her system without giving me heart attacks! Jacob was so thoughtful to get the climbing toy of Iyla. I just pray the newness of it won't wear off for a long time to come!!

Jesus Want's me for a Sunbeam!!!

Isabella is offically in Primary!! She started Sumbeams on Sunday!! It was very exciting for her and of course we just HAD to make a big deal out of it!!

We gave her a Book of Mormon reader. She loves all of the pictures! We are having so much fun teaching her more primary songs. She loves music and I love hearing her playing in her room singing "I have faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ" over and over!!

I Cry the Day I Take The Tree Down

Well, Another Christmas has come and gone. We had a blast but now that's January it's time to gear up for another exciting year. Our tree was lovely but by the 27th it was pretty much dead. So we took it down a bit earlier the we usually do. The Branches were losing needles so much I was worried that by the time we drug the tree out it would have left a HUGE trail behind it. So, we decided to cut the branches off and put them in a bag to haul them out. It worked out really well too.

The entire tree removal bag was full of the branches. Isabella helped by holding the bag for us.

Here is the trunk of the tree sticking out of the tree stand. Looks pretty sad huh?!

Bye bye Christmas tree!!

The Quilt

I have found a new respect for those quilters out there. I have attempted my first full size quilt. IT was hard I'm not gonna lie and I don't know whenI will be making another one of that size. (at least with a deadline!!) I shed blood (poked my finger WAY too many times) sweat (that iron can get ya pretty hot) and tears (I tried so hard to get all those corners to match... I really did), but I got it done with 5 days till Christmas. YAY!!

So here it is.... THE QUILT! ( don't look too close)

Christmas Dinner 2009

Still feeling a tad bitter about all the work that I put into Thanksgiving Dinner I decided to have a simple Christmas dinner. The Menu:

• Ham with amazing glaze
• Fettucine Alfredo
• Green Salad
• Store bought rolls
• Peach  and Mincemeat pie

I did take the time to decorate the Ham a bit.

The food was good, the company, even better. It was so nice to have a simple meal with those you love celebrating the birth of our Savior.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!