Controlling???

I am very aware that my son has a strong personality and has a stubborn streak, muck like his momma, but I got a new realization today when I picked him up from soccer camp.
I arrived about 30 minutes early so I could watch him in "action". Shortly after we arrived, his team settled down for a break and play time at the playground. As I watched him climb the rock wall with no help, I quickly realized he's growing up and becoming more independent. That's one of those bittersweet moments. I'm glad that he's becoming independent, as I don't want him to depend on us when he's 30, but at the same time, he is only 5. It doesn't seem as though he should be old enough to do things like that by himself. When he got to the top of the rock wall, he walked to the end of the bridge and "trolled" the bridge. He put his arms out as though he wasn't going to let anyone pass. After watching for a little while, I saw him let the other kids go by but there were often short conversations before they would pass.
When I picked him up from camp, he said he had a good time and did a lot more today than he did yesterday. After he told me about playing soccer, I asked him about the playground incident. He smiled and said, "Oh, yeah. They had to tell me please before I would let them by." No one ever got rude or upset with the other person, but my son controlled the funnest part of the playground by making the other kids say please to get by.

School

Although the summer has been extremely busy, I've had time to reflect on K's school and what we should be doing this upcoming year for kindergarten. Despite what I "think" we should do, God keeps leading me back to what I "know" we should do and the two are completely different. Last year, K started My Father's World K-curriculum. He did 14 weeks of work (in about 30 minutes a day) in a month. I don't think he was challenged enough and got bored. The previous years, we had done Before Five in a Row and started Five in a Row, and he really enjoyed it. I don't think he realized he was learning and although we didn't do much writing those years (he was only 3-4), he learned a tremendous amount and still enjoys reading the books and talking about what he learned.

He can read pretty good, but he's not interested in reading, but he enjoys being read to ~ when he's not playing outside. He's also not interested in writing AT ALL, so his handwriting has a lot to be desired, of course he did just turn 5. The great thing about homeschooling is that you don't have to do what everyone is, but can tailor your child's education based on their personal level and enjoyment. I'm looking forward to this year and "finishing" kindergarten with K and doing pre-K3 with L.

4 months

It's hard to believe that my baby is already four months old. Although I think he's too young, he was trying to get on his hands and knees the other day. I don't know what I would do if he started crawling in the next month or two. I'm not ready for that yet!

this is his "deer in headlight"

Soccer Camp

Today, K started Soccer Camp. I am SO glad we got there early. Even though we had pre-registered, we still had to wait in line in the HOT sun. Picking him up was a little easier since M was home and was able to keep the younger two. Tomorrow, now that's a different story! When I picked K up, he said he had fun. When I asked if he liked soccer or basketball better, he said, "swimming". I guess I need to get him back to the pool soon.

Painting

After church today, M and I went on a date, while Ms. Alex hung out with the kids. As always, they ALL had a blast. After we got home and M went to work, L decided she wanted to paint.

Proudly showing off her artwork. She even painted her hand herself for the hand print.

This was taken AFTER I washed the white paint off from her hand print. :-)

The art space.

I'm going to miss having a makeshift table. It's really easy to clean and I'm not too worried about how messy it gets or if it will clean up because eventually this table will end up in the garage as a "party" table.

Just Talking...

Someone at church today told me that T was going to be crawling soon. If he follows the path of my other two, I don't have anything to worry about, BUT I do have to say he likes to be involved a lot more than the other two did. Although he'll play by himself pretty good, he LOVES to be talked to. He gets upset when his brother and sister leave the room to play somewhere else. You can tell he wants to follow them, but can't. The only time he really wants me to hold him is if I'm following his siblings around. I'm really excited to see his personality develop and am hoping his nature follows his name. Maybe he'll balance my "warrior" and "defender of mankind" out and bring a little peace to the house. Here's to hoping and praying!

Ant Bites

As I was picking figs waiting for L's speech therapist to arrive, I heard L cry. I turned to see her getting off the trampoline "scratching" her legs. As I got closer I noticed she was covered in ants. Poor thing got bite so many times that her foot was swollen and she had a hard time putting on shoes. It lasted the entire day and even got a little worse and the day went on.

All Made-Up

As I was cleaning the red crayon from the wall, my daughter who was responsible walked around the corner. I couldn't help but laugh! She knows she wasn't supposed to be in my stuff, but that doesn't mean it wasn't funny to see her all "made-up". Of course, I had to get the camera and as I did, I saw her trying to clean her own mess.

Your Not My Mommy!

This evening as I was doing some gardening outside, K and L went to a neighbor's to play for a little while. As it got close to bed time, I let them know they were going to need to come home soon. I decided to let them stay up a little longer and when their bed time approached, I went to pick them up. They were having a good time swinging and sliding. I didn't want them to stop having fun, but it was time to come home. I told K he could slide one more time and he did. Then he slid again. Then he slid again. Needless to say, I was NOT happy because I know he heard me and was intentionally being disobedient. In a calm voice, I made sure he knew that I knew what he was doing and that he would get in trouble when we got home. If you can imagine, he got upset and said that I was not going to give him a spanking. I never said I was.
He then told me, "You're not my mommy". Oh joy! I queitly walked home with a screaming two year old in my arms and an upset 5 year old slowly walking behind. Luckily, T was still asleep when we got back to the house.
This wasn't the first time K had told me that so I knew the other methods of discipline had not worked so I tried to do something different. Instead of "talking" to him or "punishing" him like we had done before, I decided to retire my "mommy" duties for the evening. After I told him what was going to happen, he quickly said, "but you are my mom." Yes, I am, but I needed him to see what it would be like if I weren't. When it came time to bathe, he bathed himself. When it was time to dry off, eventually he dried himself. When it came time to get his clothes and dress himself, he reluctantly did it. When he got hungry and asked for something to eat, I told him he could get something. He chose not to. He then told me he was going to sleep on the couch since I wouldn't fix him something to eat. I told him "goodnight". After standing there for a moment, not really knowing what to do, he turned and quietly went and laid on the couch. A few minutes later, he put himself to bed ~ without a book. Maybe I should have stopped doing some of my "mommy" duties a lot sooner. I'll find out in the morning if he wants me to start doing "mommy" duties again. If not, looks like daddy is going to take him to swim lessons.

Projects

I was supposed to babysit a friend's 1 year old this morning but he ended up sleeping in so the kids and I went to the gym instead. After I worked out, I took the 3 kiddos swimming. Yep, all by myself and no one ever went under (on accident). T enjoyed the water, but appeared to be getting cold, so we sat out while the other two played in the pool. K swam all around with a noodle and L "scooched" from the stairs to the ladder a lot! She even got a little brave and started bouncing up and down and leaning her head back in the water. Her nor K wore floaties. They did great!



After we swam, we came home and everyone took a nap. T is going through a growth spurt right now and since he was up every 2-3 hours last night, I needed a nap.

After we all got up from our naps, the kids and I went outside and I started on a project that M had on his to-do list.

Tearing down the side of the fence.Some of the nails I removed from the board. I was able to finish removing all the nails.M's most recent completed project . We now have a DVD player in our van for long trips.

My next project ~ landscaping

M has already started burning down the pompous grass.

Just Another Day!

You never know what's going to happen in our house. Today, the kids woke up in a good mood. A friend from church came over and picked over 3 gallons of figs. After she left, we made a rocket out of a large cardboard box. we even cut out the wings. When K got tired of sitting in the rocket, it turned into a punching bag. While K played with his new punching "box", L had a good time running the hall and jumping into the pile of bubble wrap and blankets in her room. She can't help but smile when there is a camera around.

Picking Figs on a Rainy Day

The other day, a friend of mine that has 5 kids came over to pick figs. Well, it started raining, so the kids decided to play instead. They had a blast and Donna was able to take home a gallon of figs.

That's our fig tree on the right.

Why not play on a slip n slide in the rain?

Upward Basketball Camp

You can't tell, but K was trying to get the ball... from his own teammate.

He was upset his teammate wouldn't give him the ball. :-)

Team Huddle

LOVE the expression on his face! His cheeks are blown out and his tongue is sticking out just enough to see it. So Cute!

Upward Cheer Camp

This was my 4th year to help out with Upward Cheer Camp. I love watching the girls grow. Every
year, I do something different, but I really enjoy watching some of them come out of their shells and really start to open up.

Stretching and warming up before camp

My girls ~ Sonshine

practicing their chants

Sonic Boom ~ 4th, 5th, & 6th graders about to do a cheer

Overall, it was wonderful group of girls. They were all very respectful and very queit, especially compared to the previous years.

3 Months

I probably should have changed his outfit before I took the picture, but at least I remembered to take one. He's a good mix of my other two kids. I can't say he looks just like either of them. He has the long face like his sister did, but not nearly as chunky.

Patterns

L got quiet the other day and when I found her, this is what she was doing. She was making patterns. Although the colors weren't patterned, she worked hard to get the shapes organized and got really upset when her brother tried to help her.

Getting Big

He's so ready to go! He loves watching his brother and sister play.

This is how he likes to sleep

More Summer Fun

The MOPS Coordinator needed to pack for her move so I watched her youngest son for her. K loves playing with T and they had a blast. After they played outside for a while, we went to the library where they had a "circus" set up. The kids were able to walk a tight rope, bounce on a pogo stick, and balance spinning plates as well as try to juggle. They had a lot of fun, but I didn't have my camera with me so I didn't get any pictures.

VBS - 1

Day 1 of VBS ~ There's NO telling why K looks upset in this picture.Day 2 of VBS Day 3 of VBS ~ K actually wanted me to take their picture Parent Night ~ The kids showed us what they learned. K is directly in the center with the red bandana and black shirt with stripes. He did pretty good. He actually participated this year. Last year he just stood there.

Summer Fun

They love the slip n slide!

A Typical Day

I know I haven't been too good about updating my blog, but like you, I've been crazy busy. Our MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) Coordinator moved and I am now co-coordinating it this year (my last since K is going to officially start K). I'm working with the President of our homeschool group preparing for our conference in two weeks. While the kids did VBS at our church, I volunteered and did 5th grade Activities. That was fun! The following week, K did VBS at a church closer to us and I was able to get back in the gym. That was nice! Then, while I helped with our church's Upward Cheer Camp, K participated in Upward Basketball Camp. He really enjoyed it! This week, K started swim lessons and although we missed one day because of the weather, he's already swimming under water and jumping off diving boards. He's not proficient enough to jump in without someone being close to him, but considering he was barely putting his head underwater before he started, I think he's come a long way. All he wants to do now is swim. He has one more week of lessons and then he'll have "parent" day on Friday so show us what he's learned. I have a feeling we're going to be at the pool a lot more now. I think we're going to get a week "off" and then K is going to go to Soccer Camp. The Friday of Soccer Camp is our homeschool conference, so that's going to be a fun filled day! I'm hoping we can start school after that, but I'm going to Orlando, FL at the beginning of August for MOPS and then going to San Antonio/Austin the following weekend for my cousin's wedding. It's going to be nice seeing everyone and introducing them to Teagan.

Alaskan Cruise - Day 9

Our last day ~ Victoria, B.C., Canada

This last day of cruising was very busy. We had some swells that had to be at least 10-20 feet. The boat was rocking!Upon our arrival, we were greeted by volunteers dressed in Victoria costumes. This was probably our shortest excursion, as it was only about 4 hours. To maximize our time, we took a tour on double decker bus.

Entering China Town

An absolutely GORGEOUS hotel... this picture really doesn't do it justice.

Victoria had some beautiful architecture. We really liked this mostly glass hotel.

Good-bye Victoria, B.C., Canada