Halloween Decorations and Human Reproduction

We have been papercrafting around here, nearly non-stop, for the past month. Yesterday afternoon, BigBro made some skeletons for Halloween decorations:

Princess had to get involved as well, of course. Here is her offering:

She added all sorts of details... fingers, legs and feet in red, bones in orange. My favorite detail is the two orange dots in the lower abdomen: eggs. A few weeks ago, she and I had a rudimentary discussion about reproduction, and she was excited to learn that she has eggs in her abdomen that may become babies when she grows up. I hadn't realized what a strong impression that discussion had made until she showed me her skeleton this morning.

A few more pictures

LilBro and Racer enjoy a (rare) quiet moment

Stairstep shot at Ballpark Founders Day after Princess' soccer game

Catching Up

We had a busy weekend around here (and a busy week... I blinked and it was Wednesday. Hey, maybe THAT'S why Sarah Palin doesn't blink: time goes too quickly when you do!).


Here are some highlights:

BigBro held his 3rd Annual Lemonade Stand during our town's parade

BigBro, SoccerBuddy, Princess and LilBro at the lemonade stand

Satisfying the customers is job #1!

There were also two soccer games, a trip to the Ballpark for Founders Day activities, and dinner guests. A full, but fruitful, weekend!

Overheard

BigBro and Princess are working in the schoolroom. I am in the adjacent living room. I hear this exchange:

BigBro: "There are two 'P's' in that word. It sounds like only one 'P' but there are two. It's one of the tricky words. There are lots of tricky words in spelling."

Princess notices me in the next room and tells me not to come in the schoolroom; they are "working on something special." I don't know what it is, but apparently it has two 'P's.'

Milestones

Yesterday afternoon, we went to the playground. As I sat there on the bench, watching all 3 of my children running, climbing, sliding and swinging, I was struck by how quickly they seem to be growing.

I first came to this playground 6 years ago, when BigBro was just starting to crawl. I used to hover over him, crawling around on the rubberized surface, watching him pull up on the ladders and play with the big, plastic sliding bugs. We don't usually come to this playground in the summer (it gets too much direct sunlight, and is also home to a "summer day camp"). Yesterday was our first afternoon here in close to six months. And the changes were dramatic:

• LilBro climbed up the various different "rock walls" and multi-shaped ladders with ease
• Princess pumped her legs on the swing without being pushed
• All of the sections that were "scary" or "too hard" or "too high" last spring, weren't anymore
• LilBro was able to rotate the crank and move the cars around the racetrack

I remember that fall 6 years ago, as I followed my tiny crawler around the playground, I would occasionally see a mom or dad sitting on a bench, book in hand. Yeah, um... don't see that one happening. Well, yesterday, as I sat on the bench, watching the "spaceship" game my children were playing, I realized that day had arrived. It was finally my turn to sit on the bench with a book. Now, I just need to remember to bring the book!

Treasure Hunt

We resurrected an old favorite around here this morning. Princess is slowly making her way through some early phonics readers, but she uses the pictures as clues too often.

So, I asked her if she wanted to play "Treasure Hunt." I wrote out 6 simple sentences on pieces of paper, with clues leading one to the other. (Example: Look at Daddy's bed). The final clue led to the hiding place for a handful of Skittles. She was so excited. She carefully read each clue, ran to the next spot, and then sounded out the next clue. She was so excited by the end, she was jumping up and down and asking if she could play this game every day.

Of course, BigBro now wants his own Treasure Hunt, which will require a little more setup effort on my part.

Unnecessary Distraction

BigBro showed me the political games on miniclip.

I find the Candidates Paintball too much fun. What a great way to get out my Election Season frustrations.

Pick your candidate and try your hand here.

Be warned... it is addictive!

Quiet....

I am going on a silent retreat next weekend. I can't wait. Days like today make me even more anxious for next weekend to get here as soon as possible.

It wasn't that today wasn't a good day. It was. We got all our school work done in the morning. We even had time to tidy the house and clean the bathroom before round one of guests came. Round one left at 3:10 and round 2 arrived at 3:25. They stayed until just after 5. DH arrived home a few minutes later. We ate dinner, and then DH and BigBro headed out to soccer practice.

It was all good... just loud. And demanding. There were lots of tears today. I think Princess is going through a growth spurt; she has been eating and sleeping a lot more than usual, and falls apart at the drop of a hat. So, lots of tears (and their accompanying screeching) most of today. It seemed to be a day with more than the usual share of fighting, too.

I don't know... maybe I am just tired right now. I've been getting up at 6 am to get to morning mass. My days go better when they start with the peace and grace of Christ. But right now, that early morning quiet time seems a lot further away than just 12 hours.

It's almost bedtime. Princess and LilBro are watching WordGirl and SuperWhy, and then off to bed.

And it's only 8 more days til the silent retreat....

Schedules

Our days go best when we get started with school around 9am. If we get started too much later than that, we seem to spend too much time dawdling, and the school work drags on forever.

This morning, we went to the school mass at 8:15, as we do most Wednesdays. Afterwards, we were hanging out, playing with Baby Goddaughter, and catching up with some folks. The kids love to wave at their friends as they walk down the hall to their classrooms. We finally got out of there about 9:20 and made our usual stop at the donut shop for post-mass, good behavior donuts.

But then, BigBro really needed some pants. Now that it is cooler, he is down to just two pairs of dress pants and one pair of jeans that fit him. So, I thought it would be a good plan to stop at the resale shop and see what we could find in his size. We were already out, and I am trying to combine errands to save on gas, so it seemed like the right choice at the time.

But here it is now... nearly 2pm, and we are STILL muddling through schoolwork. We didn't get started until about 11, and it has been like pulling teeth to keep him focused all day. We still have all three sections of Language Arts, History, and Recorder to get through, once he finishes his Religion project. At this point, it looks like our afternoon walk in the nature center may have to move to another day.

Oh well, live and learn. Tomorrow will (hopefully) be a better day! And, gas or no gas, I am going to keep errands in the afternoons and on weekends!

Good Morning

I went into Princess' room this morning to wake her up, and found her laying in bed with one of her phonics readers. She looked up at me, excitedly, and said, "Mommy, I'm reading. But I am having trouble with this word."

I sat down on her bed and helped her sound out a few words, and she finished the book. She was so happy and proud of herself. "I'm learning to read, Mommy!" she grinned, when she was done.

Now, that's a great way to start my morning!

Who Would You Be in 1400 AD?

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test ...

The Prioress

You scored 5% Cardinal, 69% Monk, 62% Lady, and 35% Knight!

You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over.

You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual.

Take the quiz at Hello Quizzy... here

From the Trenches

Glimpses from today....

On the Palins as Role Models:

Princess came up to me with a toy phone in her hand. She said that she just called Taco, a "grown up man", and told him that she was having a baby in a few days and needed to get married. Taco agreed to marry her before she has her babies. (Thank God for that!)


On Candyland:

LilBro is the green piece ("his" color), and digs through the pile of cards until he gets a green card. He passes up Princess Frostine and all the other "good" cards that BigBro and Princess are salivating over, looking for the little green square, so that he can move (slowly)around the board using only"his" color, green.