Coloring, Cuting, Pasting

So, new plan.  Photograph Charlotte's artwork.  As I post it to the blog, I'm also saving it to a special folder.  Then, hopefully, at the end of the year I can have all of her work printed as a photobook of her 2012 artwork.  I hope to do the same for Frederick, but his last masterpiece found its way in between Charlotte's scissors.  And, let's face it, I don't plan to take a picture of every scribble he drops on a piece of paper.

Anyway, the theme this week was Mommy prints, Charlotte colors, cuts, pastes together on construction paper, tapes a second sheet of paper to the first and draws her family.  I love how she always draws herself holding "baby" Frederick, even though I can't remember the last time she held him that way.

Since she doesn't know how to write the word "alligator," she decided that "cat" works just as well.

And please, don't look too much into the photo below.  There is simply a baby on my shirt.  Funny MC, it sure does look like a baby in my belly! Do you know something I don't?

And yes, she named the dog "Sparkly."  On another note, yesterday she was pretending to be a cat named "Sparkles." Frederick followed suit and I decided to dub him "PJ."  Ahh, the simple things that amuse me.(Anyone else remember PJ Sparkles?)

Phases of the Moon

A homeschool perk: working Oreos into your lesson plan.

A Little Family Time

Taking photos of this guy.

And none of his sister who is too busy in her play.

Sometimes even the imperfect photos are perfect.

Enjoying the backyard as the sun sets. 

Good Eats

True story.  Most of the time I make sure my kids eat healthier than I do.  Sometimes I fail.

Recently we had dinner with some friends.  The kids didn't eat all of their meat so rather than throw out the leftovers I decided to save them in a plastic baggie and take them home as a little treat for Maddie.

The next day we had one of those crazy moments where we were in traffic and the kids were getting restless in the backseat.  In a hurry, I reached into my bag and grabbed for the plastic bag that I'd filled with crackers.  "Here, Charlotte," I said, "can you please share these with your brother."

"Okay."

A moment later. "Mommy, what are these?"

"They are crackers, honey." (I'm focused on the road.)

"I've never seen crackers like these before."

"Charlotte, they are pita crisp crackers.  You eat them all the time."

Silence in the backseat as I focus on the traffic. 

Hmm.  Something smells good, but I can't place it.

"Frederick, you really have to chew it," Charlotte pipes from the back seat.

And suddenly, I realize, Steak, it smells like steak!

"Noooo!  DON'T EAT THAT!  Charlotte, that's steak, not crackers! Ohh, get it back from your brother and put it back in the bag.  Oh goodness. Let me find the crackers."

Fortunately, neither of them had any problems relinquishing the day-old meat.

Somehow, despite my failures, my children continue to survive, thank God!

In a Nutshell

As much as I wouldn't really mind a bit more wintry weather, we enjoyed playing outside quite a bit this week in the mild temperatures.

The trampoline is still a favorite.

I live in constant wonderment of my kids' love for each other.

We abandoned the dining room for school lessons and tackled them on the living room floor and at this antique school desk.  I think I need to change up lesson location more often.

We completed Charlotte's 70th Math lesson.  I'm amazed at how much we've already covered in a few months. She really enjoys math more than anything else we do.

 Everyone loves Do-A-Dots around here.

I think we've had them out every day this week.

My mom is awesome, she bought me a padded camera strap with a two pocket pouch that can hold the lens cap and my phone at the same time.  It is awesome soft goodness on my neck. It makes me want to use my camera more - just because it is that much more comfortable to wear.  If I'd known the difference I would have bought a padded cover a long time ago.

I learned, for probably the 8 millionth time, that you should carefully read recipes.  It is never okay to accidentally sub 1 tablespoon of baking soda for baking powder.  Talk about nasty biscuits.  Fred tried to be nice and eat his anyway, but only made it halfway through.  I was really confused as to why they were so awful until I realized my error.  Sad sad.

Retirees like to congregate and gossip at the Y at 10 AM on a weekdays.  It reminds me a little of the socializing that used to happen in the weight/cardio room at the Rec in college, except everyone is more than 3x older and talks a lot louder.  I feel a bit out of place - maybe I should actually attend the Yoga class that happens around that time instead...

And that was our week, in a nutshell.

What we did today

Her handwriting is coming along, even if She does think that she has a yellow green mouth.

And, Frederick just asked me, "May ah ha so water, pease?" I am just thankfully that he is still hard to understand, or I would cry because he is growing up too fast.

It's the End of the World as We Know It

...and I feel fiiine!

So, we did something crazy, the first week of the new year; we cancelled cable.  Adios, see ya!

And then I realized I wasn't going to be able to catch the BCS bowl game from my couch and I cried a little.  And the little people might have cried, except they don't understand cable.  They do understand "no" though, and coupling that with "TV" did create it's own (surprisingly few) tears.

Okay, so both children beg me almost daily to watch TV, but they are quickly learning that TV at our house now falls under "special treat" status. They quickly adjusted and I found that I don't need the TV as a babysitter.  I'd slowly slipped into the habit of letting the kids watch TV while I got up and got going in the morning, and maybe another program at night while I was getting dinner going.  This way I knew they were in one place and not underfoot whining.  But it wasn't working out quite like I'd hoped.

The major problem was that I ended up losing track of how much screen time the kids were getting.  While we mostly stuck to the "hour a day" guideline, but one show often slipped into two while I wasn't paying attention, and honestly who wants to be ignored? The TV held my kids mesmerized. The best solution for us? Remove TV to "treat" status.  Now we don't watch TV everyday (and by TV at this point I mostly mean Netflix, though we have a house antenna, too), and no one was more surprised than me to realize that we don't really miss it.

We have been going through a lot more paper, though.

In fact, everything just seems to run a little smoother.  The kids don't need encouragement anymore to find something else to play or do.  I have even found that they are less likely to end up whining at my feet or throwing tantrums. Go figure!  Suddenly, I find it easier to meet their needs without the television absorbing their attention - it's always good to feed that hungry kid before the tantrums start, don't you think?  No longer does a program end and make them think that they suddenly need my attention; they just carry on playing when they are having fun.

Interestingly enough, two weeks into our little life change, I saw this article posted on Facebook: Commercialism in Children’s Lives.  I found myself nodding my head in agreement to every word (except for the part about keeping toy cars out of "toy libraries").  Why do I feel as though I've never heard a good strong argument against TV before?  I just always blindly accepted TV as a weak choice for my kids' time, but didn't worry about it too much when one show turned into two.

Play-Doh is always a popular choice.  This face is hilarious.

I never gave much thought to the impact of watching TV had on my children's ability to play creatively, yet even just in two weeks I already see the difference in their play.  While every trip to the store filled with pleas of "Mommy, can we buy that, puleeeze?" reminds me of the commercial impact, I never really connected it to all of the toys I hate in our house - the ones that collect dust and are rarely used (or scattered as creative props).  The things we have that I really love, that never seem to get old?  Puzzles, books, blocks, train tracks, dolls, stuffed animals, the play kitchen, toy cars, dress up clothes, and of course all of our arts and crafts supplies.  Very few of these play choices remind my children of TV characters and they have the freedom to play without creative boundaries.

See how sad she is without daily doses of Super Why?

We aren't entirely media free around here, but I feel much better, and life is good.  Now, off to curl up with a (kindle) book.  Or Netflix if I wish, but at least now everything is on my time and my terms.

The Sock Bun

The real reason I am 100% happy with my own short hair? I have this cute little girl's hair to play with. I am fairly certain this isn't what she had in mind when she asked me to put a bun in her hair, but she loved it.

The Co-Conspirators

See, I told you these two make trouble together.

Perfect Moments

Saturday morning we crawled out of bed into a chilly house, and Fred decided to get the fireplace going.  After going for years without it without complaining, my darling husband noted that we can't ever live in a house without a fireplace again.  Ha!

Once the fire was blazing, Fred and I curled up on the couch with our coffees while Charlotte helped Frederick with a puzzle on the floor.  It was one of those perfect moments that make the screaming, lack of sleep,  tantrums, and never-ending cleaning worth it.  In fact, if it weren't for the rest of the chaos that usually happens around here, I don't know those perfect moments would be just as special.  If it was just me and Fred on the couch sharing coffee in front of a fire would it be nice? Perhaps.  Would I cherish it as much and want to burn the image into my memory? Probably not.

I am certain too, that this is why, once children are gone, that parents look back and remember parenthood fondly - the special moments stand out while the crying and tantrums all just blend together in the background, half forgotten.

Our Two-Year-Old

...is so serious about his trains.

Dear Frederick

 Dear Frederick,

Today is your third birthday; you are two years old!  Over the last year you have gone from baby to rambunctious toddler.  You started the year with barely a handful of words and at two you are almost as much of a talker as your sister was at the same age.   Even then, you've said such sentences as, "I close the door, Mommy!" and often string together two to three word phrases.  While you speak all the time, much of the time it is hard to understand you, and sometimes I only understand your words in context.  I love watching you learn how to talk.  I love seeing that you know your colors, shapes, and have already started counting.  You enjoy big block puzzles and love to color with markers.

You smile an absolutely contagious little grin, always with a little twinkle of mischief in your eyes.  Your laughter often rings through the house as you play with your sister.  Nothing gives me more joy than to watch the two of you play together. Sometimes you fight, it is true, but most of the time, you are best friends and co-conspirators, and I love that.  I hope I never forget the sound of your little voice saying, "Come-on, Cha-yette!" as you race off on some little adventure.  I think about what great gifts you are to each other - that,  God willing, someday when you are grown and Daddy and I are gone, you will still have each other.

And what can I say about the cars, trucks, tractors, and trains that have invaded our house?  Oh, wow have they ever invaded; the toy closet overflows with them!  Sometimes you line them up on the floor in a row and soar your monster truck in the air over them for a few moments before crashing the truck down on top of the cars.  One little truck traveled all the way to Virginia with us this summer where you pushed it around on the ground anywhere and everywhere.  In Yorktown? Check! While touring Jamestown? Check! Walking through Williamsburg? Of course!  You have even been known to take a car or two to bed with you at night.

Before I met you, I thought 2 year olds were too busy for much snuggling, but you have proved me wrong by being the best snuggler I know.  You like to snuggle up to me in our bed in the mornings, cozy up in my arms as you wake from your nap, and demand hugs intermittently throughout your playtime.You make my heart melt.

Frederick, you are a blessing in our lives and we love you very much.

Love always,

Mommy