Back to (home)School!

Last week, we started our homeschool year with Heart of Dakota. Despite being busy, the week went really well. I'm already so thankful that we chose to switch curriculums. Last year, I felt like things were so scattered and disorganized that any change to our schedule would throw me off track. I really value a curriculum that we can pick up and take with us or easily adjust the workload to make up for a lost day here and there because life is on the move!

Anyway, Elsie is officially a first grader, and she's loving it! I am too. We're settling into a comfortable routine of history, splashing it with science and geography, exploring poetry and music, reading the Biography of Helen Keller, and topping it off with handwriting, phonics, and math. Spelling and art is tossed in there as well. Elsie's favorite is reading about Helen Keller. I remember reading her story when I was little so it's amazing to read it again with my daughter. My favorite part is how well integrated the Bible is with the curriculum. She has a memory verse each week, and we're always tying it into the history and poetry lessons we're reading as well as handwriting. Actually, all of the subjects mesh really well and reinforce what we're learning in other subjects. I adore that.

Here are a few pictures from our first week!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it...

Today, the girls and I decided to clean out the mini-van. Technically, I decided for them and was pleasantly surprised that they were rockin' helpers. Lucy did her part by sitting in her carseat, happily playing with long lost toys her big sisters were constantly passing her way.

Rewind. Are you one of those people whose vehicles is meticulously spotless? If so, you may just want to stop reading now. If not, forge onward with me! For the rest of us, having your child pull a french fry from the seat of your car when you've been nowhere near a french fry in at least 2 weeks is no surprise. My van has clutter. Lots of it. Or at least it did yesterday!

I can't prove it since I didn't take photos. In retrospect, I should have because as I was cleaning, I was also making a list of everything in the van that didn't belong. Why on Earth would I do that? For a blog challenge of course! That's right. I'm going to type that list out here for everyone to see, and I challenge you to do the same! I hope all of you still come back to read after that!

So, here it is.

17 half-full bottles of water
4 unopened bottles of water
3 baby dolls
a rubber duck
a diaper bag
2 hair bows
5 packages of baby wipes (wow! and I thought I'd need to buy some soon)
a folder
3 blankets
6 dvd's
a ballet bag
11 straw papers
a towel
a washcloth, and no-not a matched set
12 used napkins (okay, so this is just a guess-I didn't count those one-by-one. yuck!)
4 jackets
1 princess wand
a helmet for construction sites (thank you, Jason!)
2 teething toys
a gymnastics leotard
3 hot tamales
2 sticky straws
a Leapster
18 used kleenex (hey, I wasn't counting those out either)
a box of crayons
a pair of scissors
3 pacifiers
a magazine
2 pairs of sunglasses
2 hair ties
a teddy bear
5 water bottles/sippy cups (these made me thankful that we only put water in them--I don't even want to consider the other possibilities)
an empty soda can
23 random tiny toys
4 hair clips
a scrunchie
a sticker book
a single glove (perhaps you have the other one?)
2 tiaras
4 shopping bags
3 bracelets
one of Jason's shirts
one of my shirts
2 of Lucy's outfits (where are we all going without clothes anyway?)
12 pieces of junk mail
3 pencils
7 pens (alright-so I left the pens and pencils out there)
a diaper changing pad
5 headbands
14 half eaten french fries
a fish floatie

Your turn! Please come back and share a link to your blog post with the details of your own mission here. I'll send something fun to one lucky commenter!

Elsie Grace and Patience

For those who don't know, all 3 of our daughters have 2 middle names, the first Biblical (and in our case-all virtues) and the second family. Elsie's name is Elsie Grace Eileen. When she was an infant, dh and I would often say that we should've named her Elsie Patience because she could've used some! She wanted to be taken care of right away, and if you took too long, she'd waste no time letting you know.

I'm happy to report that she's grown a bit (okay, a lot) since then. At 6.5, she's basically the best big sister ever and really doesn't have much of a choice but to be patient. She's a huge help to me and will often sacrifice her turn for the sake of Claira or Lucy. I'm so proud of the young lady she's becoming. She's an incredibly easy child.

Of course, the benefits of an easy child are countless. The drawbacks? Time, or lack thereof, I should say. That old saying "the squeaky wheel gets the oil" definitely rings true. Perhaps there are other drawbacks, but this one, this time, I frequently feel slipping through my fingertips as I try to grab hold of the fringes and hang on tight. Six. Six and a half. Um, she's halfway to her teenage years. Yikes!

Our school year is about to begin, and I know we're on the brink of something so big and amazing. I'm excited and reluctant all at the same time. We're moving beyond that learning to read phase, and there's a whole world about to open up to her. I'm so thankful that I'll be there to witness every step of the way.

In the meantime, I'm living in the moment. It's one of the many reasons why I can't take too many photos. There have been so many times lately that I've taken photos of the 3 girls (NOT an easy task) and much of my time is focused on Claira and/or Lucy. It's easy to get a few good ones of Elsie and be done with her. That's not always good enough though. Yesterday, we had a chunk of time together for photo taking, and we had so much fun. It was refreshing and effortless. I adore her willingness to try out new things with me, and I love the smile that's always on her face.

I'm so very blessed to be her Mama!

Pool Fun

I think all 3 of our girls would agree that we don't spend enough time at the pool. We have one of those rectangular blow-up pools, which keeps Elsie and Claira happy on hot days. We've dipped Lucy's feet in on a few occasions, and she always screams at us in protest. With that in mind, we haven't dared venture into a larger pool with her for most of the summer. At least, not until last weekend.



Some friends of ours invited us over for dinner and a swim. Daddy got in the pool with the big girls so we thought we'd let Lucy give it a whirl, and she was happy as a clam to splash around in the water.

You should see her splash in the tub now! She doesn't leave much water for bathing!

When the UPS guy hands you lemons...

you make lemonade! Right? Isn't that how the saying goes? I know the original most likely doesn't mention the UPS guy, but this little story of mine does. When I checked my email this morning, I couldn't help but revisit the email containing tracking info. for our HOD box. I won't deny that I was giddy with anticipation to find the words "out for delivery" at the top of the tracking summary. 5 hours later, I was less amused. Deliver the box already! I kept thinking to myself.
Finally, during Lucy's afternoon nap, I heard some scuffling outside the front door and sent Elsie down to investigate. She reported the arrival of a big white box and delivered it to me. We wasted no time tearing into it and removing the brown parcel paper wrapped around the books. The books! I adore books as much as anyone, but new books?! Simply marvelous. We examined each one, flipping it over, determining which were Elsie's and which were Claira's. And then came the scrutiny, the furrowed brow, and the realization that something was missing. Math. Backordered.
Did I mention that we're scheduled to start 2 weeks from today. Ugh. I called HOD and received no answer. I should email to find out when we're likely to receive the math. Instead, I'm procrastinating. Well, not exactly procrastinating. Instead, I'm sweetening the lemonade. Originally, I took the easy way out. I chose a curriculum and just went along with their suggested math textbook. Where's the fun in that? Apparently, there is none. It was too easy, and now I'm exploring other options. I'm making lemonade. I'll let you know how it turns out.

If you take a 3 year old to a restaurant...

If you take a 3 year old to a restaurant,
she's going to want crayons and paper.
She'll drop the crayons on the floor at least 5 times
so you have no time to look at the menu for yourself.
She's going to order grilled cheese.
When you tell her that the restaurant doesn't have grilled cheese,
she'll start crying so you'll have to calm her down
by telling her that they do have chicken fingers
and fries. She'll smile and wipe away her tears.
Then, she'll notice the cherry in your shirley temple
and want it for herself.
You'll look for a spoon to fetch the cherry and then
the waiter will arrive with your food.
The 3 year old will start crying again, and you'll
have to remove the little cup of ketchup from her plate.
She'll do her best to eat the fries and ignore the chicken fingers
until you start eating the chicken fingers yourself.
She'll decide she wants them back, and then she'll
tell you that she has to go to the bathroom.
Now.
So, you'll help her up from the table, clasp her hand in yours,
and walk to the bathroom.
Waiting for an open stall will remind her that the last time
she ate at a restaurant, she was with Aunt A and Uncle M.
She'll tell you that when she ate there, she had to potty, and
after she went potty, she saw that Aunt A had big toes.
3 of them.
When a stall opens up, you'll usher her inside,
close the door, and she'll want you to help her sit on the potty
because it's so big. You'll help her and while she goes,
she'll want to know why one time she went to Aunt A's house
and took her little potty with her but we didn't bring it this time.
You'll have to explain to her that her little potty went to
Aunt A's house when she spent the night and that she
wouldn't be spending the night at the restaurant.
"Oh yes, I am!" she'll tell you.
Finally, when she's finished you can help her up, and
she'll draw your attention to how cute
her panties are. You'll smile and nod in agreement
while directing her to the sink to wash her hands.
She'll splatter soap and water all over you while she explains
how pretty she looks in the mirror. You'll agree with her
and hand her some paper towels to dry her hands.
On the way back to your table, she'll smile and wave
at everyone she passes by.
When she's settled back at her seat, she'll eat 2 more bites
of her chicken, finish her fries, and be ready to go.
You'll pay the bill and walk back to the car to head home.
On the way home, she'll decide that she's bored.
She'll ask you for some crayons and paper
and if she asks for crayons and paper,
she's going to want to eat at a restaurant too.

$10/off $25 at JCPenney!

It's a great deal for savings on back-to-school shopping! The coupon is only valid today and tomorrow so don't delay. I've had my eye on this dress for Claira:


and this shirt for Elsie:



There are more colors and styles of the shirt in store. I see a trip there in my very near future!