saturday

Today is Saturday, and for my low-key, do-whatever-I-want time (it's scheduled in, but I haven't figured out what to call it yet), I loaded up the baby and went to the friends of the library bookstore to search the shelves.  It was great.  And I found some good things.  Then Jomo and I decided to do a little organizing/packing.  (We seem to be doing a lot of that these days!)  Well afterwards, I was tired, and since we have plans later, I was ready to bail on my promise to make cookies for Z's dance class tomorrow.  And as I was explaining this to her, her little face looking so disappointed just killed me.  So I strapped the baby onto my back (with my new kelty backback!) and got to work.  Well as I was hand-mixing my double batch of oatmeal cookies and wishing for a fancy stand-mixer, not that we have any room, I had a flashback to fourth grade. Remember how on the day of your birthday you could bring in a treat to share with the class? Well, that's what we always did anyways. I remember the night before my birthday my mom helping make these complicated layer brownies that I had my heart set on.  And I'm sure she was really tired after a long day at work, and it would have been so much easier to just make a mix and be done with it, but that was very special to me.  (So thanks, Mom!)  And with S tickling the back of my neck (until she started pulling on the little hairs at my nape, ouch!) I was feeling very content making these cookies.  I know that this is the kind of stuff I want to do with and for my kids, and this is the stuff I'll remember fondly someday. (Maybe they will too!)  And cleaning out my huge pot (remember it was a double batch?) didn't even seem that bad.

healthy pictures and history review

S is eating a banana in this picture.  And we got the kids these exercise clothes on clearance. Doesn't Z's hair look long?  Daddy and son match!

I wanted to give a little review of History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations.  We love this!  We've been having so much fun, but then, my kids really like crafts.  I've heard people criticize that it's too much coloring and busy work.  I can see that point, and if your kids don't like to color, they won't like this.  But, it's not just a bunch of coloring pages. (My kids wouldn't like that either.) There are word definitions, little paper crafts (like making a paper pyramid), maps with interactive parts, and more.  L can even do it, but I leave out the writing parts, or do it for him. For us this would probably be really nice spread out over the whole year, or half the year, but right now since we're reviewing what we've already learned, we're doing one pocket/week. Once we get to Greece we'll slow down.  I like this kind of project, as opposed to lapbooks, though they are similar, because all the work is done for me.  I just have to make copies and follow instructions. This is right on their level, the right size for their age, and it doesn't have to fit onto a specific page.  Also, it's reproducible, so I can use it again with S, or maybe with L in the next couple of years.  I wish there were History Pockets for the Middle Ages, but maybe we'll do Native Americans at some point next year.  So if you're going to use these, keep in mind that you'll need $5-10 for copies and lot's of construction paper. 

And yes, I was up in the middle of the night the other day. After changing a dirty diaper, I thought it would take me a long time to fall back asleep, and then I would wake up crabby and tired at 6:00.  So I just stayed up and enjoyed myself and got a good start on the day.  However, I did fall asleep at 8:00 last night and slept in until 7:00 this morning.  That felt good.  Thanks for reading!

complaints

Just to warn you, I've had a rough couple of days.  Nothing bad happened.  We've just been getting back into the swing of things after a very long break and I'm finding it all much harder. Here's the thing: S is a toddler.  She is into everything.  She pulls all the tupperware out of the drawer, and while I'm picking those up, she's redistributing our shoes all over the house.  And after that she's on to pulling all the kids clothes out of the drawers.  And so on and so on.  I feel like I'm saying "No touch!" all day long.  And I'm not getting anything done.  Right now I have a short list of a couple cleaning projects around the house, for example the basket of random things that need to be put away.  But I'm barely able to stay on top of dishes and laundry, much less anything else.  Part of this, I know, is that I've forgotten what it was like, since during our break I had plenty of time for cleaning, along with the necessary motivation.  So I need to readjust my expectations.  But the other thing is that I'm just tired.  I don't want to pick things up all day long and still feel like there's a mess.  So something has got to give.  

I've been remembering that when Z was this age, we use to take little shopping trips almost everyday, often just to browse and get out of the house.  I think that's how I kept her busy. And when L was this age, well, I was at my wit's end and couldn't understand why this whole two kids thing wasn't getting any easier.  So here I am again, and I guess I need a new strategy. Perhaps only doing cleaning projects on the weekends and just taking care of the basics during the week?  Perhaps I should just leave the house a mess until just before dinner? Or maybe I'll clean out that basket of junk and instead throw in the tupperware, shoes, some clothes, and maybe a few crayons for good measure.  It'll be easier to pick up.  (I'm trying to be creative here.) Probably I should try to get the majority of my chores done in the morning before we start school, and then just plan to pick up once or twice later on. And I think it would be good to start a box of special toys just for S to use in the afternoon.  I could put in some puzzles, toddler crayons, sorting blocks, etc.  And it might also be good to have a bit of a routine for her, maybe an afternoon bath time to break up the day.  Jomo has reminded me, though, that one of the things we learned with baby #2 is that probably life is just harder now.  The things that are hard change as they grow.  It won't always be S getting into things, but I shouldn't expect that it'll ever go back to how it was with two kids.  

random

Here are some fun pictures:

S is checking how Z's rest time is going.

Dissecting an owl pellet.  And the rodent bones we found. (Sanitized, thankfully)

Japanese dance wearing her yukata, which is informal.

S looking cute in her own yukata.

our review

We just got back from our homeschool review, and it went very well.  In this state homeschoolers need to be reviewed by the public school system twice/year to make sure that students are receiving a regular and thorough education in all the required subject areas.  We need to keep portfolios of work to show the reviewer.  So we took our portfolio in today and met our reviewer, who was very pleasant, and showed her some of the fun things we've been working on.  She said that our program was very good and that Z has really beautiful handwriting!  Yay!  I guess it does feel nice to be approved of by someone with a little more experience.

update

Just to let you know what's been going on here.  We tried to drive out to Michigan for MLK weekend since Jomo had several days off in a row, and Z didn't have a dance lesson.  It was snowing on and off lightly, and we were nervous about driving through the mountains, but all was going well until our wipers stopped working.  We stopped somewhere to have them fixed, and it was a bigger deal than expected.  In the meantime, we heard that Michigan weather was pretty bad.  So, anyway, we turned around and came home.  The kids were crushed.  We were sad too. But we used the weekend to visit my mom, brother, and nephew instead.  We watched the Inauguration, ate lot's of popcorn, did a little school, watched some movies, and went to the Narnia exhibit at the Franklin Institute.  It was fun and relaxing. 

Now that we're home, I've been tying up some loose ends with school and house stuff.  We stopped reading Black Ships Before Troy (Sutcliffe) because we were spending too much time on it, and Z didn't love it.  Last night Jomo and I stayed up too late, so today I'm definitely dragging.  I was hoping for S to sleep a bit longer so I could lay down for a few after we were done with school, but no.  And now I have a slight headache (probably from caffeine withdrawal) and S doesn't want to wear any clothes in the 65 degree house.  But, the groceries were delivered (so we're not stuck with just oatmeal and pb sandwiches!), and I think I'll go make some coffee now that I have some milk to put in.  Then to wrestle some clothes on that little girl!

these are a few of my favorite things

I've been coming up with a list of things I really enjoy in life.  It's kind of a nice thing to think about.

1. Chocolate.  Enough said.

2. A nice fire in the fireplace.  We don't actually have one, but maybe someday.

3. Curling up with a book.

4. Burt's Bees.  I really like the smell of the baby wash and lotion.  

5. Fresh fruit and vegetables.  Avocados, pineapple, berries, tomatoes, etc.

6. Diet Coke.  Sad but true.

7. Nature.  This is a growing love.

8. My new kelty child carrier backpack!  My mom gave it to me for an early birthday present.

9. Sweet potato tempura.  There's something so satisfying about the flavor when dipped in tempura sauce.

10. My crockpot.  We lost the crockpot we got for our wedding, and recently got a new one.  I've rediscovered the ease of getting dinner ready in the morning.  And around six, which I like to call, "the witching hour" in our house, there's not much to do.  It's wonderful.

11. Scrubs.  It's nice to watch with Jomo and laugh together.

12. Real maple syrup.  It makes the fake stuff taste like, well... I'll just say not good.

13. Real vanilla and butter for baking.  Along the same lines.  Tastes good.

14.  Reading a good book to the kids.  Especially when they are really engaged and want to keep going.

15. Making memories.  Like the time Jomo and I went off with our friends on the spur of the moment to Toronto.  And we froze our butts off looking all over (including in an old movie theatre) for our car.  Or the time we had a spam cook-off with our roomates.  Or Jomo and I going to NY city for our first get-away after Z was born.  And the time we almost died when our tire broke off of our van as we were crossing a long bridge. (The tire proceeded to bounce up and over the side in slow motion.)  And it was so surreal to be alive.   And the time that L gave a speech to the whole of Jomo's family Christmas get-together as we all took turns sharing a story.  The only thing was, he couldn't really speak yet, at least not in English.  And of course there are many more.  And the thing is, the experiences aren't always pleasant at the time.  And they can't really be intentionalized.  But it's wonderful to have them, and think back over them.

Making a list inspires me to slow down and savor all the blessings we have.  

wiggles

A few days ago Jomo and I were trying to clean a bit while the kids were having their rest time.  Well S had already napped, so she was with us getting into everything, undoing all our work.  Jomo suggested revisiting our old friends the Wiggles.  She likes music, so we introduced her to Greg, Anthony, Jeff, and Murray.  Here's what she thought:

Hmm, not too impressed.

"I'd much rather help Mommy and Daddy with their chores!"

"Besides, they'll never get done with all that singing and dancing they keep doing. "

slap on the wrist

I need one.  Know what I did?  I spent time planning and researching for next year.  Remember I said I wasn't going to do that?  I got sucked into the dover publications website and picking out activity books to go along with our studies next year.  But my plans are set enough for now, and it's not like I'm going to buy anything.  So, stop it Dina!  Bad girl!

relaxing

We've had a wonderful break with Jomo home.  I didn't really realize 

beforehand that we would be taking such a long break from school (due to Jomo's long break), but I'm so glad I went with it. We all really needed it. It was so nice for us to spend all this extra time together. And it's not as though Jomo will be having four weeks off at a time in the near future.  Here are some pics of our fun.

Our special New Year's meal and gift of money for the kids (in the Japanese style)

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Big belly, skinny legs.

 

Z and L in their unusual attire amidst the folded laundry

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S having fun wearing sunglasses.

 

The kids showed the baby how to blow into the recorder, so she can actually play it.  Lovely.

Actually it's really cute.

Z dancing in the living room and looking very grown up.

Yay History!

I just received A Child's History of the World in the mail yesterday, and I am very excited.  I think it's going to work great for us.  Story of the World was good too, but it was from the library, so that was a bit of a pain, and I knew that Ambleside uses CHOW in year 2 and beyond.  So it made the most sense to buy this.  It seems like the right amount of information for Z's age, and also it looks very engaging. I also received History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations, and as soon as L saw that, he asked if he could do it too.  This also looks very age-appropriate (for Z).  It'll review what we've already learned, and continue on with Greece and Rome (and a couple more that we'll probably save for the summer/fall.)  So I'm excited about history again.  

Things I'm not going to do...

In light of my recent realization of having only 3 real months left, I'm making a list of things I don't want to get bogged down in for this time period. I can bog myself down later.  So here goes:

1. I'm not going to learn to play piano alongside Z.

2. I'm not going to read important works of literature that I feel I should read.

3.  I'm not going to spend any more time figuring out next year's curricula.  I already have a pretty good plan, I think, and I'm going to stick to that.  In a nutshell: Z is going to do Ambleside Online year 2, as is, and also LLATL yellow, Developmental Math, HWT, and maybe Artistic Pursuits and/or Drawing with Children.  L is going to do Explode the Code, Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (I think), SSRW games/songs, but not workbooks, HWT, math manipulatives and calendar with maybe a workbook thrown in, lot's of good read-alouds from the library, sit in on some of Z's history, science, and art lessons. So there it is. No more posts on that for awhile.

4.  I'm not going to feel guilty about: not signing L up for any activities, not spending lot's of time getting together with other kids, not going on lot's of nature walks, and not getting everything done that I hope to.

5. I'm not going to buy anything new.  You know, beyond food and such.

6. I'm not going to spend much time in the grocery store.  I've discovered that Safeway will deliver the groceries for a relatively low fee.  Besides, $6.95 is worth it to not have to deal with, well you can imagine the grocery store fun.

7.  I'm not going to spend lot's of time obsessing about what may happen in the future.  Ok, I might spend a little time doing this, but...well, Rome wasn't built in a day (or some other creative and more appropriate saying that I'm not going to spend time thinking up right now).

To be continued if I think of more things that I can let myself off the hook for.

freak out

Ok, I'm starting to freak out a bit.  I've been planning out this next few months of school and thinking through goals and all that, and it's hit me how soon we're going to be in a big transition phase.  Jomo will be done with school at the end of April, then we plan to move (at least out of this house, though we don't know where we're going yet).  And Jomo will be studying for and taking the bar in the summer.  So basically, that's three months of normal life (January, February, and March), followed by a month of packing, yard sale, cleaning out the house (April), and then some months of transition (May- ?).  Aaaaaah!  Did I mention I don't do very well with transition?  Ok, breath, Dina. One day at a time.

resolutions?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I want this next semester to go, what things I want to change, what things I want to try to fit in.  I don't really like the term "new year's resolutions" because it seems synonymous with "doing a really good job exercising in January, but then not the rest of the year."  At least in my life.  This morning I opened the Bible to read a bit, and thought to myself, "Hmm, it's the beginning of January. Maybe I should try to read the Bible in a year again....Naaah.  When has that worked in the past?"  But I don't want to be that kind of person. I don't want to give up before I try just because I've failed in the past.  And I also remembered something I've noticed about myself is that discipline begets more discipline. So if I wake up early before the kids, spend some time praying and reading the Bible, then I'm more likely to clean as I go throughout the day, exercise in the evening, and generally be more productive.  It is hard to keep it up, but I can always start new the next day or week.  So I'm motivated to set some new goals, have grace for myself on hard days or hard weeks, and to not give up, but to keep on starting over when I need to.