Horn Homeschool: Week 3

We had LOADS of fun studying airplanes last week. Especially fun because we took two field trips to see planes up close and personal. This week was enriching for me personally because I know virtually nothing about airplanes. It's gonna be hard to top airplane week!

Here's what we did:

Monday, September 6
* Reviewed long-a and "all" sounds by reading simple readers together (I read 1/2 and Chloe read 1/2)
* Handwriting page
* Annos math games
* Read two chapters in Dr. Doolittle

Tuesday, September 7
* Read several airplane books, identified parts of plane
* Made airplane models from balsa wood and popsicle sticks
* Read two biographies of the Wright brothers and also the book So you want to be an inventor?
* Airplane lunch and airplane spoons. Consisted of string cheese wrapped in salami for plane body, pepper strips for wings, carrot for tail. I taped "wings" on the kids' spoons so they could fly their yogurt into their mouths.
* Handwriting page
* Math workbook page
* Annos math games
* Taught "air" words, wrote on the blackboard and Chloe made a guessing game for me using "air" words
* Matched rhyming words from two columns on the blackboard using long-a and "all" words
* Watched "There Goes a Plane" dvd
* Finished reading Dr. Doolittle
* Sang and listened to "I'll Fly Away"

Wednesday, September 8
* Reviewed "air" words
* Reviewed vocabulary words: biography, inventor
* FIELD TRIP: Military Air Preservation Society Museum. I impulsively threw the kids in the van for this impromptu field trip. It was perfect for our little crew! This small museum was a gem! Run by retired volunteers, the place was nearly deserted and all the older gents got quite a kick out of my active kiddos. We even got a personal tour guide who patiently answered my very dumb questions. :) It was a fairly hands-on museum -- the kids especially enjoyed playing in the gondola (passenger part of a blimp) and manning the anti-aircraft gun.
* Taught "air" combination words (i.e. airplane, staircase, hairball)
* Constructed rubber band airplanes and flew them outside (These cheap little wind-up propeller plane kits were great! Chloe got LOTS of practice counting to 100 as she wound up her plane's propeller.)

Thursday, September 9
Took the day off to pick apples with friends

Friday, September 10
* Read blimp, helicopter, and hot air balloon books -- compared and contrasted these with airplanes
* Suitcase number activity. Since one of the kindergarten objectives is for students to know their number words, I labeled 10 suitcases/bags with the number words from 1-10. Then Chloe and Clive (mostly Chloe) filled the suitcases with the correct number of items. They also put the bags in numerical order. Lots of addition and subtraction was involved in this simple activity, not just counting. Often Chloe would lose track of what she had already placed in a suitcase so she'd recount and I'd ask her a few questions to help her figure out how many more or fewer things she needed to match the number label.
* Airplane/airport game. Chloe and I worked all afternoon setting up an airport. We made tickets, boarding passes, luggage tags, set up a metal detector, ticket counter and created seat assignments. I can not even begin to tell you how much learning went on during this fun activity! Chloe typed our address and phone number for the luggage tags (practice reciting information), she wrote and cut out the tickets (handwriting, spelling, writing monetary values), wrote names on each luggage tag (reviewed spelling family names, wrote proper titles such as Dr. and Mrs.), grouped and organized luggage tags, creatively used household items to construct a (non-working) metal detector. After dinner we led Matt & Clive through the airport process and ended by showing an in-flight movie on the "plane" complete with snacks.
* 9/11 history. In the process of setting up the metal detector, Chloe asked me why such devices are needed. It was the perfect opportunity for me to tell Chloe a little about 9/11.

Saturday, September 11
* Kent State Aviation Heritage Air Show

Soul Music

Like most folks, I have particular musical tastes. Of course I'm keen on a variety of artists from differing genres dependent on my mood, inspiration and activity. But when it comes to soul-stirring truth-speaking music, I have a few all-time faves that I keep coming back to. These artists continually resonate with and encourage me in my daily walk.

For me, the artists below have perfectly struck that hard-to-find balance of poetry and music.

Sons of Korah :: This Australian group is led by a theology prof who sets psalms to music. The kicker for me, besides the sincere vocals and meditative music, is that they don't change the words of the psalms (except marginally). Keeping the text pure makes their sound rich and deep.

Shaun Groves :: In my opinion this guy is seriously gifted in poetry. Seriously. His song Last Notes is a simple but incredibly encouraging look at death.

Keith & Kristyn Getty :: This husband and wife team write modern yet theologically rich and alive hymns. Love 'em. Especially Kristyn's prayerful ballad Still.

Sovereign Grace Music :: There are simply loads of songs I dig by these artists! While their poetry/creativity is not always earth-shattering in its presentation, in my mind they've produced some moving and inspiring music. My favorites are the kids' album, Awesome God, and Valley of Vision inspired by the Puritan prayer book of the same name.

I'm always on the hunt for some new favorites! Who are your go-to artists for inspiration, encouragement and spiritual resonance?

Fall = Cinnamon

This weekend we had a few surprisingly chilly days which reminded me of the impending arrival of fall. Not yet, please!

Something about the cooler temperatures triggered the fall baker woman in me. Without realizing it, I baked FOUR TIMES this past weekend. Once a day I baked up something yummy containing cinnamon -- the delectable spice of fall.

The smell of spicy cinnamon hanging in the air is almost motivation enough for baking. I'm also hopeful that baking more for my family will mean that we'll consume fewer processed foods overall. And that's a VERY good and needful change for our family snacking habits.

Here's what I cooked up:

Friday: Dutch Crumb Apple Pie (This is Matt's all-time favorite dessert. Baked this to celebrate our collective survival of his first week back to teaching.)

Saturday: Zucchini Nut Cookies (Had 1 cup of shredded zucchini lying around so I tried this recipe from allrecipes.com. These were DELICIOUS and promptly consumed by my cookie loving tribe. No one could tell there were green vegetables hidden inside. After I revealed the secret veggie ingredient Chloe proclaimed, "Mommy, it is against the law to put vegetables in cookies!" I'm willing to break the law to make these yummies again.)

Sunday: Morning Glory Muffins (In an effort to have easily accessible breakfast sides, I baked up these healthful muffins. Again, Chloe rebuked me for these muffins contain vegetables -- carrots this time rather than zucchini. They are moist, tasty and full of lovely fall spices!)

Monday: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips (Cookie jar was suddenly empty since the disappearance of the zucchini nut cookies mentioned above. The 1/2 bag of peanut butter chips inspired a batch of oatmeal cookie goodness.)

What are you baking these days?

To-do list

Besides homeschooling and the regular meal responsibilities of the week, I'm looking forward to a few extra fun items on this week's agenda:

* Introducing Solomon to solid foods

* Apple picking with friends

* Local air show

* Making Solomon's first Green Bay Packer t-shirt

What's your week look like?

Horn Homeschool: Week 2

Have we truly completed two full weeks of homeschooling already?!?!? I'm perplexed, amazed and thankful to God for His grace in this kindergarten venture. Looking back at the busy week, I'm agog, simply agog at how much we were able to get done. It helps that Chloe is an absorbent little sponge and a quick study!

Our week 2 theme was "All About Me". Since it's standard for kindergarteners to learn all their basic personal info, it was a natural fit along with our letter A activities. It worked beautifully with our phonics lessons too. This week we tackled the "ah" sounds (i.e. "all", "aw", and "au" words).

Here's the day-to-day breakdown of our week's activities:

Monday, August 30
* Reviewed long A sounds
* Read "You are Special" by Max Lucado
* Made t-shirts out of construction paper representing Chloe & Clive. Chloe had to cut hers out and color/draw her favorite foods, activities and likes on the t-shirt.
* Learned Psalm 139:14 and drew it on a poster
* Learned and sang "God Made Me" together
* Talked about how God made us and our bodies
* Traced C & C's bodies on paper bags. Colored and wrote names on each paper body outline
* Handwriting page (from A Reason for Handwriting Level K)
* Read James Herriot's "Only One Woof"
* Drew pictures of our favorite scenes from "Only One Woof"
* Watched Veggie Tales "God Made You Special"
* Reviewed "all" ending words

Tuesday, August 31
* Began All About Me booklet -- made cover and did three pages (linked here)
* Made "A" shaped pretzels from bread dough
* Reviewed "all" ending words
* Constructed a poem about Clive using interchangeable "all" ending words (this got pretty silly!)
* Reviewed Psalm 139:14
* Sang "God Made Me" and "All Creatures of our God and King"
* Talked about how God made each person different and unique with special talents/abilities
* Read part of Peter Spier's book People (FANTASTIC book! Perfect lesson extension human differences throughout the world and chocked FULL of illustrations and information.)
* Rhyming game using a ball (On the porch Chloe and I bounced a big ball back and forth. For each bounce we had to say a word that rhymed with "ball")
* Read "I Can Draw" and "I Can Read" (To emphasize the abilities God has given Chloe to develop)
* Handwriting page
* Math workbook page

Wednesday, September 1
* Labeled body parts on body outlines and introduced new body vocab to Chloe (i.e. shin, calf, waist, shoulder blade, collar bone, wrist)
* Simon says game using body part vocab
* Completed three more All About Me pages and bound the booklet with ribbons
* Read all of Peter Spier's People (This took us about 45 minutes, believe it or not! It is a good sized book but also very involved. After reading each caption, I had to do some further explaining to nail the concepts for Chloe.)
* Introduced "aw" sounding words on the blackboard
* Handwriting page
* Math workbook page
* Read James Herriot's "The Christmas Day Kitten"
* Drew favorite scenes from "The Christmas Day Kitten"

Thursday, September 2
* Reviewed "aw" words and introduced "au" words
* Read "The Oak Inside the Acorn" by Max Lucado (Beautiful book! Warning though, it may invoke some mommy tears when you get to the end. )
* Sang "All Creatures of our God and King" and "God Made Me"
* Reviewed Psalm 139:14
* Read "Just Me" poem from I Can Make a Difference by Marian Wright Edelman (This book was not as good as I hoped but the poem was just right for our level.)
* Annos Math Games, Chapter 1 (Somehow Chloe got it into her skull that she doesn't like math. NOT allowed in this household! I'm hoping to throw in more manipulatives and math literature so it doesn't become too boring. Annos Math Games has been terrific so far! Chloe asks for more and though an adult can easily see the math applications it feels more like a picture book than actual "math".)
* Handwriting page
* Chloe read the reader "I Can Draw"
* Chloe typed sentences (This is Chloe's newest hobby. Matt has been giving her typing lessons and Chloe enjoys typing "stories". It's usually just 3-4 sentences but it's good spelling practice for her since she already knows that red squiggly underlining means something is wrong.)

Friday, September 3
(Didn't do much in the morning since everyone was feeling sick and I was feeling tired from caring for sickies.)
* Reviewed "aw" and "au" words
* Played silly sentence game (I made three columns on the board for crafting simple sentences -- articles, subjects, verbs. Most of the subject and verb words came from our "all", "aw", "au" words from the week. Chloe and I took turns seeing who could make the silliest sentence using the word from the board.)
* Annos Math Games, part of chapter 2
* Chloe wrote thank you cards (Maybe we'll get these all finished before her next birthday!)
* Began Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (Since we are almost done with our current read-aloud, Dr. Doolittle, Chloe asked that we try Ramona the Brave next. After half of one chapter I knew Chloe was NOT ready for Ramona Quimby. Charlotte's Web is a much better fit.)

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Ready for week 3 -- Airplanes!

Empty

I've been purposely silent on the blogosphere and Facebook this week. This week Matt has gone back to teaching so I've been on my own for kid care, meals and homeschooling. It's been a mad blur. And it's left me empty.

In the midst of the chaos late yesterday afternoon, God gave me a moment of clarity and rest. Believe me, it was less than quiet at the time. Picture it: There I was, holding a screaming baby on my hip while trying frantically to make a bottle, pacifying a 2 year old pulling my legs and asking for a snack and monitoring the pots I had simmering on the stove. Certainly not the tranquil verdant setting for a moment of insight to alight.

Nonetheless, the simple truth hit me again in the face. I'm not doing the work here. I can't possibly be because I'm utterly drained. It's like I'm in slow motion and I'm watching as God's strength flows and works. I'm completely empty. Of strength, of patience, of wisdom, and even of love.

And when I'm totally flattened like that, it's a good feeling. It's not without pain to see the reality of who I am -- a helpless gasping soul who needs to be rescued and buoyed. I need. Desperately. But to be needy is not something to be ashamed of.

When I see how much I need and I glimpse my silly pettiness, God reminds me of that I'm part of something much bigger. That as I blunder and flounder He is working out a grand scheme for humanity. He's in the business of rescuing thousands of souls who are feeling just as lost, tired and needy as I. He's making a kingdom. And I'm a part of that. And someday with the family of God's kingdom I'll sing His praise and leave these cares behind me forever. Ahh.

The extra bonus wonderful part is that I'm in the process of bringing these dear little ones along into the kingdom. That in the changing of poopy diapers, cleaning up messes, and wiping snotty noses I'm serving my children in order to show them what Jesus' love really looks like.

Let Your kingdom come, Lord!

This song says it much better (click "Kingdom Coming" to play).

:: :: :: :: :: :: ::

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." [Matthew 6:33-34]

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." [2 Corinthians 12:9-10]

Horn Homeschool: Week 1

Last week I impulsively jumped into homeschooling Chloe at the kindergarten level. After researching many curricula in the various subjects, I decided to move forward with a conglomeration of materials and teaching methods.

A BIG part of me wishes I could plop down $300+ for a total kindergarten curriculum package. It would ease my fears knowing that everything I need would come neatly packaged in a box. But since I don't have $300 lying around, I'm doing the mix-and-match method of teaching kindergarten.

And honestly, I'm glad! It seems to me, novice homeschooling-teacher that I am, that one of the essential benefits of homeschooling is flexibility. The ability to try one method on your student and then scrap it if it doesn't work well is an option traditional educators don't usually get.

It also seems to me that educating your child should cost significantly LESS than $300.

I'm gradually learning that homeschooling should NOT look like classroom-teaching-at-home. It's not simply traditional school with a change of setting. I'm certain that will be a huge hurdle for me to overcome since I have traditional teaching in my background. I've already succumbed to the temptation to buy lots of workbooks -- who can resist those cute ones in the Target dollar spot? NOT I!

Several older experienced homeschooling moms advised me that they wished they wouldn't have put so much pressure on their kindergartners. So, trying hard to go slowly, easily and with lots of fun tools in my belt, I dove in.

And looking back at our first week, I can't believe how much we got done in such a short amount of time!

As a way of record-keeping and accountability for me, it's my aim each week to chronicle on the blog our week's school progress. I'm chronicling this for my benefit; feel free to skip the long boring details and just leave me a generic comment.

This first week was all about the letter A (original, I know). Clive did several of the craft activities with us and then I did the other activities one-on-one with Chloe in the afternoons during the boys' nap time. Here's what we did:

Monday, August 23
* Made an "A" poster: I drew a capitol A and we all drew and labeled A words on the poster
* A craft: Glued pasta and other objects to a paper in the shape of an A
* Had apricot snacks and quesadillas cut into letter A shapes for lunch

* Read alphabet books together

* Handwriting page (from A Reason for Handwriting level K)

Tuesday, August 24

* Talked about alphabet order, sang the alphabet song together

* Mixed up alphabet game (I wrote each letter on a sticky note and then took the first 10 and mixed them up on the board while Chloe went out of the room. She came back in and had to rearrange the letters into proper order. We did this 3 times each time increasing the amount of letters to rearrange. By the 4th time, I mixed up all 26 letters for her to organize.)

* Reviewed short A and long A sounds

* Read several "ai" and "ay" words together

* Read the book "Play Day" focusing on the long A sound

* Wrote "ai" and "ay" words on a small chalkboard mixed in with short A words and Chloe had to identify and circle the long A sounding words

* Sorting activity

* Read alphabet books together

* Math workbook page

* Handwriting page

Wednesday, August 25

* Long A scavenger hunt game (I wrote 15 long a words on the blackboard omitting the first letter, using paper letters/blends I had prepared ahead of time Chloe had to match the beginning sounds with the long A endings to make words. When she made a word, she had to run upstairs to find that item hidden in the kitchen. I used easy to find items/toys like "plane", "mare", "train", "game", "plate", etc.)

* Read "Play Day" together

* Painting with fruit craft (Sliced a green pepper in half and then dipped it into paint to use as a stamp for making cards)

* Math workbook page

* Handwriting page

Thursday, August 26

* Read "ang" ending words

* Pictionary game with long a sounding words (I wrote 12 long a words on a grid on our small blackboard. Chloe and I took turns drawing one word from the board and the other person had to guess the word. When the word was guessed correctly, Chloe had to find it on the board and cross it off.)

* Read James Herriot's "Moses the Kitten" story from Treasury for Children (GREAT BOOK!)

* Drew pictures of our favorite scenes from "Moses the Kitten"

* Math workbook page

* Handwriting page

* Tangrams (I'm a BIG fan of using tangrams and other manipulatives for demonstrating math concepts and developing problem-solving skills. Since this was Chloe's first time ever playing with tangrams, we just played freely and made various silly shapes with them.)

Friday, August 27

* Drew and cut out lowercase a's and Chloe & Clive had to find "A"s from bowls of Alphabits cereal. Glued cereal A's to their lowercase a's

* Starfall reading journal book, 3 pages (This handy phonics/reading journal goes hand-in-hand with starfall.com, one of our favorite fun educational websites.)

* Wrote thank you cards (we skipped handwriting today since Chloe did plenty of writing on the thank you cards)

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Additionally, Matt did several math lessons on his own with Chloe. He wants to be a big part of homeschooling Chloe. But since Matt teaches college level English it's oftimes difficult for him to stoop to kindergarten mentality. When I went downstairs and found him trying to teach Chloe double-digit adding in rows, I had a little talk with him and brought him back to reality. :) He altered the lessons and instead focused on simple addition. Matt even crafted an addition chart with her pointing out patterns in the sums.

All in all, I think Chloe had a great week of kindergarten! Since I eased into things slowly, I didn't think it wise to add all subjects this past week. I want to hammer away at reading, math and handwriting for sure each week and then when I see an opportunity for a science lesson or history application we'll slide that in.

If you're homeschooling, when do/did you begin? What are you doing and how are you keeping things light and enjoyable?

Stay tuned for week 2!

Trying to be thankful

Yesterday was one of THOSE days. You know what I'm talking about.

Solomon was a crab all day long and didn't nap more than 45 minutes at a time. Which meant that by the time I settled down into an activity of some sort (reading to Chloe, working online, contemplating a nap) he was waking up again. And then he was a cranky pants!

I felt frustrated all day long. I know frustration is born from my refusing to let go of my own expectations but try as I might I could NOT shake it.

When the long day wore into evening I was spent. After yet another fussy period when I KNEW with all my mommy being that Solomon was exhausted, I stopped trying to multitask. I put on my flip-flops and took Solly for a long walk in the warm summer air.

Holding my curious baby boy and soaking in the quietness of the summer night I finally stopped regretting the day. I forced myself to stop looking at the "wasted" day and to think instead of the many tangible things I have to be thankful for.

I've been harping on Chloe lately about how fortunate she is. I explain and explain how privileged she is for being healthy, having a loving family, and living in America. But all I get is blank looks in response. I feel like I've reached official mom-status now because I totally get Ralph's mom in A Christmas Story when over a plate of unappetizing food she says, "Children in China would be happy to have that!"

I also get why she wears an apron all the time. I have used spray-n-wash on my clothes every day of my life since bearing progeny.

But I digress.

The clarity of the night and removal of distractions helped me focus on the big thankful things. And even though I didn't feel like it, I spoke truth to my lying emotional heart.

Truth is, I'm healthy. I have a husband who loves me, treats me well and makes me smile. My children may be fussy, annoying, needy, or dirty but they're mine. And they are alive without illness. Truth is, God loves me. The God of the universe. That's huge. I have friends. Good friends that I can be real with and laugh 'til I snort with.

When Solomon and I got back from our walk, he was still awake but no longer fussy. I laid him on the floor and just played with him. Our shared laughter was good therapy and a great reminder to me of the healing goodness of God. That despite my wanderings and self-imposed frustrations, God can wipe it all away in a moment. Through the simple joy of a baby's laugh.

This is the day the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad today. And tomorrow too with God's help!

What are you thanking God for today?

Keeping me humble

My kids certainly have a special knack for keeping me humble. Coming from the mouths of such small souls, the words are especially hard-hitting and dramatic.

Don't worry, I know better than to take my children too seriously.

But upon reflection, it's good to look back at their quips and quibbles and see God's lessons for me. And lately that lesson has been about humility. I'm so glad God, in His wisdom and humor, gave me these precious little grindstones to make me a better mommy.

Cases in point:

Case #1

(Setting: After Clive's nap he was sitting on the counter eating a snack while I prepared dinner.)

Clive: "Mama, what you cooking?"

Me: "I'm making zucchini muffins."

Clive: "Yum! Mama, you are a good baker!"

Me: "Thanks, Clive-y!"

Clive: "And you look like a jellyfish."

Case #2

(Setting: During the boys' nap time, Chloe was lazing around on the couch looking for something to do while I worked on the computer.)

Chloe: "Mama?"

Me: "Yes, Chloe?"

Chloe: "When I grow up I'm not going to be anything."

Me: "What do you mean, Chloe?"

Chloe: "I'm not going to have any job. If I'm a mom, I'll just be a mom and I won't work on the computer all the time."

Case #3

(Setting: Putting things on the table for dinner.)

Chloe: (walking into the kitchen) "Mmm, mommy what are we having for dinner?"

Me: "Healthy hot dogs, mangos and yogurt, and cheesy veggie noodles" (I was pretty proud of for whipping up a pasta primavera like dish using zucchini, green pepper and corn)

Chloe: "Mommy, you are the BEST cook! I'm going to give you a big hug!"

Me: "Thanks, sweetie. I hope you like it."

(Dinner transpires)

Chloe: "Mommy, this is the BEST meal I've ever had. (Thinks for a few seconds) Except when I have peanut butter and jelly. THAT'S the very best."

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

See what I mean? :) I'm so thankful for these darling little ones. They keep me humble, make me laugh and help me see joy in every day life.

What funny things have your little people been saying?

Interview

Stole this cute idea from blogger friends Christina and Katie. While "interviewing" Chloe and Clive with the questions below, we were all downstairs together in the basement schoolroom/playroom. Distractions abounded! Not that Clive needs much to distract him as you'll soon discover when you read his *interesting* answers.

By the end of the interview Matt and I were both laughing to the point of tears! Experiences like this remind me yet again of the super fun phase we're in with our precious kiddos. It's draining to have three little ones 5 and under but these are sweet precious days!

Without further ado, here's the interview. Enjoy and try it out on your little people!







1. What is something your mom always says to you?
Chloe: "Um, I love you!"
Clive: "No no, I a baby. Babies not talk, babies cry. WAAAH." (I asked the question again this time addressing it to "baby" instead of "Clive".) "Uh, shhh."

2. What makes mom happy?
Chloe: "When I give you a BIG hug!"
Clive: "Sad!"

3. What makes mom sad?
Chloe: "When I disobey."
Clive: "Uh, no I a baby. Uh, I don't know."

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Chloe: "By tickling me!"
Clive: "Tickle me!"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Chloe: "A gift" (Not sure what she was thinking with this response but she's right on. I WAS a gift to my dear mom when I was a child. Now if I was a lump-of-coal type gift or a bright-shiny-new-bike type gift is up for debate.)
Clive: "I don't know"

6. How old is your mom?
Chloe: "35"
Clive: "3"

7. How tall is your mom?
Chloe: "50 inches"
Clive: "50 inches" (copycat!)

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Chloe: "Take naps" (So true!)
Clive: "Get in a bus"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Chloe: "Sit and cry"
Clive: "Wash the dishes"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Chloe: "For being superman"
Clive: "I need to wash my hands!"

11. What is your mom really good at?
Chloe: "Taking naps"
Clive: "Eating supper"

[At this point in the interview Clive yells out, "Where's my hammer?!? I need my hammer!" For the next several questions of the interview Clive hammers the bookshelf while singing the Bob the Builder theme song.]

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Chloe: "Lifting chairs"
Clive: "Lifting chairs"

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Chloe: "Teach"
Clive: "Lifting chairs" (guess I'm not very good at my job then according to Clive)

[Since Clive kept repeating Chloe's answers, Matt proceeded to conduct a whispering lesson with Chloe. Chloe wasn't getting it and the whole thing spiraled into silliness quickly.]

14. What's your mom's favorite food?
Chloe: "Cheese"
Clive: "Cheerios"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Chloe: "She wins races a lot."
Clive: "She . . . . hammering."

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Chloe: "Superman" (Can you tell Chloe's fascinated by superman lately?)
Clive: "Kipper the dog" (HEY, I object!)

[After his last reply, Clive explored the game closet, found the bananagram bag and shouted, "BANANAGRAMS!" while dumping all the letter tiles out.]

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Chloe: "Doing school"
Clive: "Do bananagrams in here"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Chloe: "We both have brown hair and brown eyes"
Clive: "Both 3 years old"

19. How are you and your mom different?
Chloe: "I can't hear" (Huh? Maybe she meant she couldn't hear the questions over her brothers' racket?)
Clive: "I different and mommy's different too"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Chloe: "Because I love her"
Clive: "She told me"

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Chloe: "To stores"
Clive: "To Krieger's"

Together

Matt and I just celebrated our eighth anniversary. Eight years already?!?

In some respects it seems as though it's only been a few months. The last eight years have passed by super quickly. In other ways it's as though we've been together forever. And I mean that in a good way. :) Living life together with Matt is natural and easy and good for me. He sharpens me, challenges me and complements me. We're opposites in lots of ways and while that sometimes brings conflict it also brings balance to our crazy home.

And don't get me started on what an amazing and involved dad he is.

If we were on a dance floor, this is the song I'd pick for us.

I love you, Matthew Clive Horn.

Blurry milestones

I have a theory regarding time. Time is proportional to the number of children you have distracting you. Now that I'm the mother to three little blessings, time seems to go by THREE times as fast.

Somehow my baby Solomon grew overnight into a 16 1/2 pound bundle of baby chub. He's rolling, laughing, eating cereal, TRYING TO CRAWL (he doesn't yet realize he's not allowed to achieve mobile status for many more months) and blowing spit bubbles. He's knocking down the milestones like a boxing champ.

And instead of waiting expectantly for these precious baby milestones, I'm a spectator watching as they speed past me in a blur.

Solomon isn't the only one blowing past the milestones at lightning speed. My baby girl Chloe is doing it too. This past week she turned 5, lost a tooth, spent a day all by herself with grandma (during which she got to eat at a super fancy restaurant -- subject for another blog post), and has grown into a lovely "big girl".

Thankfully Clive is frozen in super-cute 2 year old mode. My favorite word he says right now is "actually". He uses it correctly too. It just sounds so darling in his little 2 year old voice!

As the milestones blur past me, I'm reminded to slow down the blurring and savor these moments. To let go of petty minor issues and to focus on the big stuff. Like loving God, living in peace, and laughing with the children He's given us.

What fun things are your kids doing in their current phase?

Homeschooling poll

Ok, I realize I'll be opening up the floodgates here when I ask this question but I don't care! I LOVE hearing what curricula others use in homeschooling and I'm desperate for more ideas. I'm also starting to panic a little since I still don't have a solid plan yet for Chloe's kindergarten year.

But then I remember that we're talking kindergarten and not highschool calculus. Actually, I enjoy calculus so that's slightly less intimidating to me. Kindergarten means art projects, reading LOTS of books, learning to tell time, counting money and fun field trips so why am I stressing?!?

SO, what do you currently use for homeschooling curriculum in the major subject areas? I need advice in every area so feel free to give me a detailed report!

How can he sleep like that?!?

We recently upgraded all the kids to bigger beds. Solomon went to the crib, Clive to a twin sized bed, and Chloe to a full sized bed in her OWN room. Her room is pink and girly. She's already possesive of it and trying to keep her brother out. I thought that wasn't supposed to happen until adolescence?

All things considered Clive is doing great with the new set up. He's always been a thrashing moving type of sleeper so the bed rails are a MUST for his safety. Even with the rails, which cover almost the entire length of his bed, he's already fallen out of bed once.

And with his new found freedom we certainly have our staying-in-bed battles. He's a completely different beast than Chloe in this regard.

I knew we had it too easy with Chloe. Oddly enough, Chloe used to stay in bed and then call for me to get her up! It was as though she didn't realize she could get out on her own. Since she was our first child, I assumed that was the norm. (Please don't laugh too hard at my naivete.)

Somehow, I never tire of going in late at night to peek in on the kids while they sleep. Part of me wants to make sure they're safe. But a bigger part of my heart loves to see them peaceful and innocent while they slumber.

And with Clive I enjoy going in and discovering what crazy new sleeping position he's gotten himself into! Ah to be able to sleep that soundly!

Is my wacky boy the only kiddo who sleeps like a contortionist?

Pretty tips?

Today was an insanely productive day for me. I simply can't believe all that I got done in a 12 hour span of time! I won't tell you what I accomplished because

a) you won't believe me,
b) you'll think I'm bragging, and
c) God should get the credit since HE supplied me with the strength and motivation.

Five hours of uninterrupted sleep and several cups of coffee helped too.

Mid-afternoon I raced upstairs to use the bathroom and as I washed my hands I caught a passing glance of myself in the mirror. YUCK! Who was that sweaty messy person looking back at me? My brushed-once-this-morning hair was disheveled and frizzy. The powder I had hurriedly applied was completely gone. Sweat droplets, red cheeks (will I EVER remember to put sunscreen on myself?) and blotchiness covered my skin.

Besides that my clothes were a wreck! After grocery shopping and plastering layer 1 on Chloe's birthday pinata I felt like one huge stain.

I don't expect to look like a fresh dewy supermodel while I'm in the grind of mommyhood but I DID hope I'd look better than the bride of Frankenstein. It's no secret that I don't spend much time on myself. Primping and floofing are NOT high on my priority list right now. Sleep, having fun with my kids, sleep, making meals, sleep, connecting with my husband and keeping the house slightly cleaner than filthy are tops on my agenda. Did I mention I need more sleep?

Today I neglected to take a few minutes to pretty myself up. It doesn't usually take more than 5 minutes to do my normal routine of face powder, mascara, clean clothes, painted toenails, earrings, a spritz of perfume and lip gloss. (And I must confess, I often apply my makeup in the car. It saves precious minutes in the morning and I can apply almost everything without ever taking my eyes off the road. Granted, mascara is a bit tricky but I apply that at red lights.)

Which leads me to ask . . . what quick things do you do to up your daily pretty factor?

Clive the Builder

Clive's little 2 1/2 year old voice is so scrumptiously cute I pretty much kiss and hug him all day long. Scratch that, I try to kiss and hug him all day long. He adeptly avoids my loving attempts by scampering away fast on his short little toothpick legs.

If there's anything cuter than Clive's voice, it's hearing that voice sing. Hear for yourself and prepare to be bombarded with adorableness!

I think Clive is a Bob the Builder's biggest fan. And I really don't mind. I like that Bob (like how I refer to a cartoon character as though I know him?) displays the process involved in construction. Since watching Bob dvds, Chloe often "makes a plan" as she plays. I also appreciate that Bob and his team work hard, work cooperatively and clean up their messes.

Another nice perk to watching Bob the Builder is that Chloe truly enjoys it right alongside Clive but at a different level. Not many dvds cross the gender and age lines that easily. I'm curious . . . does Bob the Builder mania infect your boys and/or girls?

Unbroken bones

Ever feel like you're the worst mommy in the world?

I've succumbed to mommy guilt countless times but this experience takes the cake in terms of guilt-dom. As many of us newbie moms would attest to, many valuable parenting lessons are learned the hard way. Learning-by-making-mistakes is my most frequent, not to mention effective, mode of parenting.

Rewind to last Saturday afternoon. A nearby town was hosting an afternoon sidewalk chalk drawing contest and festival. A perfect mommy-Chloe afternoon outing. The festival was a small affair complete with every 21st century child's favorite activity -- inflatables. Chloe jumped 'til she was red in the face and then proceeded to her designated sidewalk block.

Chloe scribbled and scratched out a typical rainbow and balloons picture complete with the sweet chalky message pictured at left. (No, I did NOT coerce her to write that!) Then some friends joined us and the girls did more bouncing in the inflatables. (Seriously, Chloe NEVER tires of inflatable fun.) After that we all walked together to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. And that's when the craziness began.

The ice cream parlor has a beautiful old marble counter and spinny bar stools. I, like the oft-times casual mom that I am, let Chloe sit and spin on the stools without thinking twice. I continued visiting with my mom-friend clueless to Chloe's danger. AND my wise friend didn't let her daughter spin on the stools. Let THAT be a lesson to you, Alicia!

Anyhow, the girls were happily licking their ice cream cones when Chloe spun too fast and went flying to the floor. She landed squarely on her elbow. Because was holding her ice cream cone, she didn't try to slow her fall with her hands. Instead all her 60 pounds came crashing down onto her elbow. Her elbow immediately swelled up in a strange place -- just below the joint.

We rushed Chloe outside and at this point I was utterly reliant on my friend, Shannon. She has nursing experience and took charge of the situation. I was like an ameba -- unable to think or move on my own without outside intervention. I was thoroughly scared and emotional realizing that if Chloe had broken her arm it was ALL MY FAULT. Cue mommy guilt and LOTS of mommy tears!

After a long ordeal at the ER, it seemed that Chloe was fine and dandy. Since Chloe as in zero pain the NP on duty diagnosed Chloe's injury as a hematoma in the soft tissue. Kind of like a bruise inside Chloe's arm. We were cheerful and all set to go home when the ER staff delayed our paperwork. We waited and waited and WAITED. Then the NP came in with a new diagnosis. They had found a "disruption" on the bone near the site of the injury on Chloe's xray. So, the NP casually said, "I think we'll splint her just to be safe."

In my mind I imagined a splint as two balsa-wood-type sticks used to hold the arm in place and then taped. Boy was I wrong! The splint turned out to be almost a cast just not quite so heavy. The ER nurse came in and started taping Chloe's arm without so much as a hello or explanation. And try as I might, I could NOT get the nurse to explain the process to us. Hence, I couldn't in turn explain things well to Chloe and she had a major meltdown.

Again, my mommy tears flowed this time in sadness at my utter inability to comfort my girl. She freaked out. Big time. It was almost as though Chloe became a completely different little girl in those moments of trauma and terror. She screamed, kicked (she had to be held down for the taping), and loudly cried her displeasure.

Chloe finally calmed down on when we arrived home. She did super well with her splint and eventually became proud of all the things she was able to do one-handed. (It helped that I often tote Solly around and could show Chloe all the things I do with only one hand.)

3 days later at the orthopedic specialists' office the splint came off and Chloe was proclaimed healthy. No break, fracture or "disruption" to speak of!

Overall the ordeal was a good one. Hopefully we won't have to endure any breaks in the future but if we do now I'll know what to expect! And I'll be much more careful the next time Chloe is lured by spinning stools.

By far the worst part was Chloe's unexpected reaction during the splinting. I've been told this is a common occurrence though.

Have you or your kids ever broken any bones? If so, how did they deal?

Thrift Store Phenomenon

When purchasing shoes at the thrift store, make sure you have two shoes of the same size. And it would be helpful to have a left shoe and not just two righties.

DUH! Good thing my mistake only cost 90 cents.

In my defense I must note that boys' sandals have a deceptive way about them. Don't they look matching from the photos below?

Can you tell I'm trying to justify the wasting of 90 cents?

Seriously though, in all my years of resale shopping this is the first time I've seen this. A pair of shoes exactly the same brand, style and color only a 1/2 size apart. I'm wondering what other customer went home with our matching right sandals!

In general I whole-heartedly LOVE thrift store shopping. It's like a treasure hunt with precious (and cheap) jewels just waiting to be discovered.

Anything like this ever happened to you? Happy thrifting!

Our glorious garden

This year we have a truly glorious garden! Since the natural soil in our backyard is junky, Matt built raised garden beds. I've always dreamed of having a big garden and since this spring I've been busy caring for baby Solomon, I was thrilled Matt volunteered to tackle the garden project.

Little did I know the crazy plans my ingenious husband had. Thanks to Matt's industriousness and vision we now have 9 garden beds, 5 pot stands, and a potted herb garden.

Our jungle garden is thriving and doing well! While most of what Matt planted was an "experiment" almost all of the seedlings have sprouted and taken root. (Spinach and the root veggies didn't take). Thus far we've harvested 3 zucchini, several sugar snap peas and green beans, lots of strawberries, one banana pepper, loads of leaf lettuce, and some herbs.

Having a garden has been incredibly fun and educational. It's exciting to go out every night and check on the progress of our veggies. And it's so amazing to see the intricacy and variety of God's creation expressed in plants! Who knew that sweet potatoes and tomatoes were in the same plant family? Or that squash family plants have male and female flowers? Or that root vegetables needed added phosphorous in order to thrive?

Veggies picked fresh from the garden taste much yummier than those bought from the store. And it's incredibly rewarding to be able to eat what we've actually watered, tended and reaped.

Do you garden? If so, what have you planted this year?

(Warning: Excessive amount of garden photos below.)



My potted herb stand containing basil, mint, oregano, lemon thyme and cilantro






















Zuicchini

Eggplants in pots

Homemade topsy-turvy-like tomato planters

















Pumpkin plants!






















Butternut squash plants





















Our first broccoli!






















Sugar snap peas





















The fuzzy things in the middle are asparagus. Four small blueberry bushes in the corners.

















Our first green bell pepper! Isn't it cute?























Yellow banana pepper






















Brussel sproutlings





















Gigantic tomato plants























Strawberries!

















Leaf lettuce

Family resemblance

My Solomon is SUCH a Horn baby. Countless people comment on how much Solomon looks like Chloe & Clive when they were in baby form. Even the cashiers at our local Drug Mart make a point of stopping me and remarking to the Horn family resemblance.

And I concur.

Looking at some old pictures of Clive and Chloe I was taken aback by the uncanny resemblance between our bambinos. I showed several of the photos below to Matt to see if he could guess who was who. Surprisingly, Matt guessed wrong about 25% of the time. That's how stinking alike these kids look!

Let's see how well you fare. Think you know your Horn babies? Check out the photos below and see if you can tell who's who.





1.





















2.


















3.





















4.






















5.

















6.






















7.

















8.













9.

Happy Independence Day!

This year 4th of July weekend sneaked up on me! The month of June went by way too quickly in my humble estimation.

To kick off the weekend, Chloe and I drove to a nearby town for their annual fireworks display. This is our 3rd year going to Hudson for fireworks and I finally figured out the secret to avoiding post-fireworks gridlock. Bliss.

Chloe always cracks me up with her fireworks watching mentality. She enjoys it for about the first 10 minutes and she's complete with unfettered oohing and aahing. (So much so, that I had to start shooshing her because I was afraid she was disturbing other onlookers.) Then, she gets bored and distracted. Weird, eh? For a kid who can zone out for hours in front of a Bob the Builder dvd, I expected more from her attention span.

At least this year she asked some good questions about fireworks. None of which I was prepared to answer in depth. :) I'll be doing some good ole-fashioned wikipedia research on fireworks today (i.e. how do they work, and when did we as a nation start this whole crazy lighting up the sky tradition).

This year's display was spectacular! Even saw some new beauties this year. The golden waterfall fireworks were my fave.

This morning I'm taking the kids to a local Independence Day parade. This parade is full of firetrucks and people throwing candy. Clive will be in little boy heaven!

How are you celebrating this Independence Day weekend?