Lazy Saturday

Now that Matt is slaving away back in the college classroom, weekends have become our family's much-needed and anticipated together time. It is breaking Matt's heart to be away from us so much! It's especially difficult to deal since some evenings he gets home only an hour before the kids' bedtime.

I'm not whining, I realize this is normal life. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!

Today we've all been puttering around the house together working on various projects at a leisurely pace. And though I never experienced a full break from kid-dom, it felt refreshing and therapeutic to slow down a little. I even tinkered a bit with my sewing machine (I've missed you old friend!).

How'd you spend your Saturday?

Not-Quite-Free Museum Day

Yesterday we partook of the Smithsonian-sponsored free museum day! We loaded up the troops and headed to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

The Museum was small but terrific! Lots of animals, dinosaur bones, and even hands-on discovery center for the kids.

Unfortunately, I didn't read the fine print of the coupon and we ended up paying for one admission. It was Chloe's though so we only had to shell out $6. Not bad for our entire family to visit the museum! A perfect activity on a rainy cold September Saturday.

Chloe and Clive both enjoyed the museum albeit in starkly different ways. Clive was Mr. Pointer Man running quickly from one animal to the next pointing (and leaving smudgy fingerprints) and naming the creatures behind the glass displays. Chloe liked the dinosaur bones and really thrived in the kids' discovery center. She immediately picked up a magnifying glass and pretended to be a scientist. Then she did several puzzles and activities without much parental assistance. She's growing up!

The only bummer about the experience was that I didn't get to learn much. Matt and I took turns supervising the tornado which is Clive but even then I didn't get to read many placards or displays. Such is the life of a parent! Maybe Matt and I will have to go back for a date night. :)

Enjoy the few pictures I snapped below. (In case you're wondering, the photo of Chloe with her fingers on top of her head is her impersonation of the triceratops darkly pictured in the background.)

How was your weekend?

A long week

It's been a vvvvvvvvvvery long week. This week Matt went back to school and he's got a grueling schedule. Which means he's away much more and I'm out-numbered at home. :)

Me, Chloe and Clive launched this week with some new routines and activities. I began "Hooked on Phonics" which Chloe calls her "Mommy School". I started some simple character training from the website ABC Jesus Loves Me and am slowly introducing Clive to letters. Additionally, I'm doing Five in a Row with Chloe. It's been super simple to incorporated Five in a Row. It's a literature-based curriculum and so I just read one story to Chloe five days in a row. At the end of each reading, we do a craft/activity which focuses on a different aspect of the story. (I promise to do a separate post on Five in a Row in the near future. There are so many neat aspects of the curriculum I'm dying to share!)

It's all gone very well and Chloe is thriving! At first I thought I had planned too much for her -- she's only just 4 and I don't want her life to be super structured yet. I still want imaginative and spontaneous play to be a huge part of her day. But she is seriously loving our new learning activities and I can tell she's flourishing through the new challenges.

My biggest hurdle this week has been preparing dinners without having Matt's extra hands around to help. I'm working on that aspect. Trying to cook some ahead of time and do more freezer meals.

It's been a fun but tiring week. I'm sure glad it's nearly over and that we've got an extra long weekend ahead! What are your plans for the holiday weekend?

A smile for your Friday

What a ham my little boy is! He'll stop anything to say "Cheese" and give me a big grin.

In this instance Clive was "fixing" my bike. Please ignore the unidentified substance around his mouth. I'm fairly certain that's not dirt. :)

A very happy Friday to you all!

The Promise of the Weekend

It's almost the end of the work-week and as usual the weekend possibilities seem endless to me.

About this time every week I start day-dreaming about the weekend potentiality. Ooh, I think to myself, I could put in some extra hours working online or maybe I can finally start sewing that dress I cut out for Chloe. Maybe the weather will be warm enough for a quick zoo trip or a walk to a nearby park. The possibilities are endless! :)

Since Sundays are full of church-type activity, we generally keep our Saturdays free and open schedule-wise. We often start with an extra special Saturday morning breakfast of some sort. Then we either do a family activity or I take the kiddos to do something out-of-the-ordinary and give Matt some quiet at-home writing time.

Whatever you end up doing, I hope you and your family have a super enjoyable weekend!