Dear Sara...

...this post is dedicated to you!!  Anyone else is, of course, free to read along!!  I can't promise you won't be bored to tears, however. 

My pregnancy brain has forgotten to bring along the camera to many an important event lately (I guess there haven't been that many really momentus occasions, but I usually take pictures of just about everything).

So, here is a hodge podge look at a some random things we've been up to somewhat recently.

We're working on our geography fair project.  This little activity was lots of fun.  The point is to start with the universe and, using progressively smaller circles, work your way down to your own house (through Earth, your continent, your country, etc.).  I thought it might be good to identify our own geographic location before we start learning about a foreign country.  Next year, we're going to try to do Hong Kong for our exhibit.

Of course, I got this idea from somebody else to whom I'd be happy to give credit if I could remember who she was...

This is Felicity's universe - I guess it would seem ideal to her at certain times when her brothers won't give her exactly what she wants.  Made me laugh and laugh... 

Everybody's been really into origami and legos recently.  These are great, quiet things for the kids to do, but our house is really cluttered.  I can deal with that.

Here's Vic and his buddy at a recent taekwondo tournament. 

Sorry about this absolutely horrible picture, but it's the only documentation I have of our superbowl 'party.'  By 'party' I mean we and my parents.  We lived it up, though, with wings and taco dip and fun drinks.  I even used my new 3-in-1 slow cooker (thanks, Karl and Shaila, for the awesome Christmas gift!).

In other news, baby F is kicking away and making me really tired.  My kids have been great about allowing me a daily nap.  Lucy got fitted for pre-pointe shoes at ballet class.  Susan the cat killed a bird in the garage and I think we will never see the end of the feathers - the more I sweep, the more there are.  Miss Felic tested negative for a nut allergy.  So, now we have no idea what is causing her hives.  Ignace has now flipped both forward and backward out of his wheelchair at basketball practice.  He's rather proud of this fact.  I'm working on hanging up more family pictures around the house - more nesting, I think. 

Could this post get any more sleep-inducing?  But, in the name of keeping my dear sister-in-law on the other side of the world in the loop, I post these less-than-exciting details of life.  At least I didn't write about clipping toenails and mopping the kitchen.  :)  Miss you guys!!!  Hugs and kisses!!

Valentines

Happy St. Valentine's Day! One thing I really LOVE about motherhood is having a daughter who likes to plan and prepare meals. Today, she wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day: breakfast.

The plan was for heart-shaped fried eggs. But, they did not quite 'pan' out, if you know what I mean, so she did a great job with regular eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls (not homemade, but very yummy indeed), and fruit. I did help her with some of it. It's just hard to get the hang of making everything ready at the same time.

Everybody was very happy with the results. To make the occasion even brighter, Daddy is working nights this week, so he was home for breakfast. Neither he nor I had yet showered, so we opted out of the photo shoot.

Close up you can see that everybody had a valentine from Miss Lucy at the top of his plate.

I also made these fun, but way-too-sugary treats to go along with the morning festivities. I lifted the idea from someone else, of course.

My sweet husband always remembers to acknowledge special days, big or little, so even though we agreed not to do gifts, he still had 2 cards waiting for me - on the computer where he knew I'd be sure to find them. haha.

Anyway, hope you had a great day!

Happy Birthday, Victor!

Yesterday, a certain someone in our house turned 7.

As usual, he was the first one downstairs in the morning, ready for his breakfast tea. He likes to make it himself.

His birthday celebration actually started a couple weeks ago with a trip to the Lego store in Chicago...

We made a spontaneous decision to bag our lesson plans and take a field trip to a local WWII Museum. It's nice to have other homeschooling friends who are just as flexible and goofy as we are.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!! We are super proud of you!!

little friends

Our little friend Leah spends lots of Tuesdays with us. These get-togethers often involve lots of princesses, ballerinas, and barbies. Today, while I was reading books to the kids, these 2 little cutie-pies totally sacked out. I love this little pile of lace and sequins and little girls snuggled up catching a nap. It also made for a very peaceful playdate. :)

Age 4 Love

Ever since I was a teenager and assisted with 'Adventure Camp' over summer vacation, I have been in love with 4-year-olds. Never mind that my own descendents tend to have major issues with anger control at this time in their lives. They are delightful nevertheless.

This evening while the other kids were occupied with their various activities, it was just Miss 4-year-old and I together in the van. I find it so much easier to focus on what each of them has to say when it's one-on-one (like, no duh, you might be thinking...).

Anyway, here's an example of one her brilliant little insights:

-We were discussing lemonade. She said, "You know Mom, when I was only three, I used to call Nemilade 'Amilade.' Isn't that so funny?"

-Also, "Mom, I don't fink I want to go to the library. Let's go shopping."

I replied,"what would you like to go shopping for?"

"Oh, you know, clothes and new strollers and fruits and vegetables and a pie for my birthday party and stuff." (Mind you, her birthday is in October.)

-And there was more funny, funny conversation... If only my pregnancy-brain could retrieve the memory...

-Oh, here's one from her next older brother. He's not a big Dora fan, especially the princess version. Of course, Little Miss 4 chose 2 such books for her bedtime reading. Big brother's comment during the scene in which princess Dora and her friends were trying to decide how to enter a castle locked by the bad king (they chose using butterfly wings), "That's so dumb. They should just use claw hooks and a rifle."

Are you a homeschooling mother in need of a laugh?

Then, check this out:

Homeschool Ryan G*sling

Even if you're not, this is funny stuff. Warning: May not be 100% appropriate for kids.

Nesting part 1

The other day, we (the kids and I) started pulling boxes of baby clothes out of the closet to see if anything is salvagable. Is it just my imagination or do stains get worse when stashed away for a few years? Anyway, we did find a few things that will work, I think, including a pile of bibs.

Our current baby - Miss 4-year-old - is becoming more and more excited about having a younger sibling. She even seems to be completely over the fact that this baby is not a girl. (For a while, she consoled herself by thinking there must be a boy and a girl in there...).

She's been making some funny proclamations about things during our baby prep lately. For example:
-While sorting through a pile of bibs, she announced, "This one says 'I love my big sister!!'"
-As I was putting the new stroller together, she pointed to the front seat and emphatically let me know that the instructions say 'Must test out.'
-The baby must be named John. She will not consider an alternative.

So, we all seem to be getting ready for our new little one in different ways. More on this topic later...

Have a great day!