Seriously though? Three straight meals of PB&J is two too many! Want to know something funny though? The girls were so excited that they had crunchy peanut butter in the house that they all had toast with peanut butter on it for breakfast. When they told me that at lunch I had to walk away I was laughing so hard. I don't think they'll be having it for breakfast tomorrow!
We are having to cut our little object lesson short. Turns out my brother and his family are going to come and see us this weekend. And since I can barely tolerate this much PB&J, I am definitely not going to subject anyone else to it. So we're going to end after lunch tomorrow. But the lesson will still be learned.
How do I know this? #2, the one who most needed this little lesson, has detested eating the sandwiches almost as much as I have. She hasn't said a word, other than asking if she could have meat and cheese instead, but she looks like she's about to throw up the entire time she's eating it. Success! And before you start to think I'm horrible, the kid is a food snob. Not picky because she'll eat anything, but if she decides she doesn't like something she'll act like it's torture to eat it.
All the girls asked me at some point today if I was going shopping. #2 asked if I needed to thaw out chicken. I made it a point to tell them I needed to go shopping. And then I told them that I didn't really feel like going. And then when I was making dinner I reiterated that I was busy this afternoon and didn't feel like going shopping. The older two especially seemed a little disgusted with me when I made comments about not really wanting to go to the store or being busy. I think they could see that I was just being lazy doing my own thing instead of going shopping. This is a good thing--exactly what I wanted them to pick up on.
I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised at the lack of complaining that we've had. Actually, there hasn't been any complaining. Not even a moan when I said that we were doing PB&J again. It's nice to see that in the midst of a lesson we're teaching the girls that we can see that some of our other lessons have paid off! It's entirely possible if we carried this out as long as originally planned there would be complaining, but if we can get through 4 straight meals of these sandwiches without a complaint I will count that as a success!
So the plan is to go ahead with lunch tomorrow as our last meal with PB&J and then sit them down shortly after and talk about everything we learned. Don't forget that we also had dinner at 8 on Tuesday night as part of the lesson. Hubby and I just might be taking bets about who cries first. Again--not terrible parents, just parents of four girls! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Phase One: Complete
We have now completed phase one of "Teaching a Lesson They Won't Soon Forget". Tonight's agenda was to close ourselves off in our room until 8 and "forget" to make dinner. It went about the way I thought it would. Disbelief when we said we were going to start a movie at 5, the time I normally start making dinner, and several questions about when we were going to eat. Some of the questions were:
"What's for dinner?"
"Can I help you make dinner?"
"Are we going to eat soon?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
The last one was from #1 right at 8. I heard a distinct sigh--through our door--when we replied we'd get to dinner eventually. I almost couldn't stop smiling when we finally came out. #1 was extremely irritated with us. #2 and #3 just followed us around the kitchen until we had the food on the table. Apparently they were hungry. We did feed #4 at 6:30 since we didn't really think she was old enough to have to wait until 8 to eat. But she ate with us again.
We did allow a little bit more than just cheese and crackers. Not a terrible looking dinner, but since this looks a lot like what we have for lunch most days, it isn't a favorite for any of us.
To their credit, we heard no complaints. #2 asked if she could have a PB&J instead, but didn't say anything when we told her no. And even though we could tell #1 was irritated with us, she never once gave us any attitude or said anything in an ugly manner. We will be complimenting her on having control over her emotions and showing respect even when upset.
The best part of tonight? I wanted to drive home the point that we were eating this late because we were watching movies, not because something important was going on. So as we were clearing the table I told them I was sorry about dinner, that Daddy and I just got caught up watching our movie. I was met with dead silence. I couldn't risk looking at them because I was afraid I would start laughing, so I missed any facial expressions, but the silence said it all!
If they only knew what they are in for the rest of the week!
"What's for dinner?"
"Can I help you make dinner?"
"Are we going to eat soon?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
The last one was from #1 right at 8. I heard a distinct sigh--through our door--when we replied we'd get to dinner eventually. I almost couldn't stop smiling when we finally came out. #1 was extremely irritated with us. #2 and #3 just followed us around the kitchen until we had the food on the table. Apparently they were hungry. We did feed #4 at 6:30 since we didn't really think she was old enough to have to wait until 8 to eat. But she ate with us again.
To their credit, we heard no complaints. #2 asked if she could have a PB&J instead, but didn't say anything when we told her no. And even though we could tell #1 was irritated with us, she never once gave us any attitude or said anything in an ugly manner. We will be complimenting her on having control over her emotions and showing respect even when upset.
The best part of tonight? I wanted to drive home the point that we were eating this late because we were watching movies, not because something important was going on. So as we were clearing the table I told them I was sorry about dinner, that Daddy and I just got caught up watching our movie. I was met with dead silence. I couldn't risk looking at them because I was afraid I would start laughing, so I missed any facial expressions, but the silence said it all!
If they only knew what they are in for the rest of the week!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Operation Object Lesson is in the Works
I'm not going to lie. Plotting with the Hubby about how to cause the most heartache in our children was just a little bit fun.
See, our girls are good kids. Through the grace of God we've gotten some things right in training them up. But since they're not functioning adults yet we still have work to do. Right now the biggest issue that needs to be addressed is teaching them to take responsibility of their chores and other jobs so that I'm not constantly having to remind them to get them done.
I had a great system figured out. Actually, it is still a great system, they're just not using it right. I have a separate sheet of paper printed for each of the older three with a list of their chores and what day they need to get them done on. For example, vacuuming the rugs on Tuesday and Fridays or cleaning the bathroom on Wednesdays. These sheets are in plastic covers so that they can get a dry erase marker and check off when they get a chore done so they can easily see what still needs to be done. Smart, right? Don't think too highly of me--I got the idea off of Pinterest.
This system worked great for the first several weeks. Sheets were being consulted, boxes were being checked, and chores were getting done with enthusiasm! My list maker self was happy! After about 2 months though the boxes weren't really being checked any more. I was OK with this. I would hope that after that amount of time they would be able to remember what they were supposed to do on any given day. Soon after I noticed that the sheets weren't being consulted much either. Again, I was OK with it. As long as they remembered what they were supposed to do I didn't care if my system was being used.
We were gone a lot this last summer so after the first couple of weeks back in school when Hubby and I noticed that chores weren't being done at all we had a family meeting where we reminded the girls that they have a responsibility to the family to help everything run smoothly. We also changed up some of the responsibilities. That helped for a while because they had to go back to checking their sheets to remember what the new jobs were.
But then they started slacking again. So we started implementing punishment for not getting their chores done. For example if the dust mopping wasn't done by the time Daddy got home at 5:30 then that child would be doing the extra sweeping as well as dust mopping for a week. We did have to doll out punishments to all three of the girls for different things. It didn't take more than about two times of extra work being piled on for them to get the hint and start getting it done when they were supposed to.
The problem during all of this is that I would "help" the girls along by reminding them that they might want to get their chores completed. Or just asking if they got something done. Or flat out telling them to go do it right now. I can't even remember all the times I've reminded them about something and they'll say, "Yeah, I know," and then get so busy doing their own thing that they don't get it done. And it's gotten worse. I'm now constantly reminding them or asking them about their chores. Chores that by now they should have memorized what they are supposed to do when.
There are several problems with this. First of all, the reason I came up with my chore system was so that I wouldn't have to think about the girls' chores at all. Once I had them down on paper they should be able to read it and get it done without me having to constantly remember what they're supposed to be doing on any given day. Once I had it written out for them I emptied that space in my brain to fill with other necessary information. Like what I'm making for dinner tonight or what day I'm supposed to do laundry. Honestly, some days I feel like if I have to remember one more thing Hubby is going to come home and find my head has exploded. And then the girls will have the chore of cleaning my brain matter off the ceiling. Secondly, when they get a job their employer will not be reminding them what they have to get done and when it needs to be done by. At least not more than once or twice. I also think that not getting their chores done shows a lack of respect for the authority of their father and I. There needs to be a level of respect that if we tell them to do something it gets done without a reminder.
So Hubby and I have been thinking about how we can get this lesson across. Reminders and punishment haven't worked on a long term basis. Allowances are given as a way to teach good money management so we don't take them away as punishment. Plus, we don't pay the girls to get their chores done. They do chores because they're a part of the family, not because we pay them for it.
What we finally decided was that we needed to show the girls how them not doing their chores affects the entire family. They have been given chores to do because they are a part of this family, and everyone needs to do their part in order for the family to run smoothly. So we are going to show them what happens when Mommy "forgets" to do her job. Or when I get caught up doing something I enjoy and get my job done late.
Tomorrow night Hubby is going to come home and we're going to watch a movie in our room. They won't be invited to join us, they'll have to figure out something to do on their own. Then, because I'm doing something for myself, I'm going to forget to make dinner. When they remind me about it, as I'm sure they will be often, I'll just tell them I'll do it in a little bit. Something I hear quite often from them. The end result is that dinner is going to be cheese and crackers at around 8 p.m. Hubby wanted dinner to be skipped completely, but I thought that might be a bit much.
And then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we will be eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch and dinner because I'm going to forget to go grocery shopping. (For the record, Hubby and I both really dislike PB&J. This isn't going to be fun for us either). When they ask about food we already have I'll tell them it's for another meal, but since I don't have all the ingredients I can't make it. When they remind me that I need to go shopping I'm going to say something about being busy, or I'll go in a little while, or I don't feel like it right now. When they complain about the peanut butter and jelly we'll remind them to be thankful we have food to eat. We're determined that this will be something they won't soon forget.
Hubby and I were laughing a lot while plotting this plan. We've already figured out the logistics of where we'll hide our snacks to sneak throughout the day. Or how long we'll have to wait after they go to bed to get Taco Bell without them smelling it. We might have actually cackled and rubbed our hands together when we decided we would write their favorite meals down on our menu for them to see knowing full well we wouldn't be fixing them. We're not evil, but any parent will tell you that sometimes it feels like you're in a battle with your children. This is a war we don't intend to lose! If we can do it with a flare that will make them remember it longer, even better!
Our girls are pretty smart so I expect them to figure out what is going on before Saturday night. But we're going to carry it all the way through. And Saturday night we'll have another family meeting and we'll talk about what we all learned. Hopefully this is the last time we'll have to demonstrate the importance of getting chores done. If it doesn't work I just might resort to showing them pictures of brain matter and explaining how hard it will be to clean off our ceiling!
See, our girls are good kids. Through the grace of God we've gotten some things right in training them up. But since they're not functioning adults yet we still have work to do. Right now the biggest issue that needs to be addressed is teaching them to take responsibility of their chores and other jobs so that I'm not constantly having to remind them to get them done.
I had a great system figured out. Actually, it is still a great system, they're just not using it right. I have a separate sheet of paper printed for each of the older three with a list of their chores and what day they need to get them done on. For example, vacuuming the rugs on Tuesday and Fridays or cleaning the bathroom on Wednesdays. These sheets are in plastic covers so that they can get a dry erase marker and check off when they get a chore done so they can easily see what still needs to be done. Smart, right? Don't think too highly of me--I got the idea off of Pinterest.
This system worked great for the first several weeks. Sheets were being consulted, boxes were being checked, and chores were getting done with enthusiasm! My list maker self was happy! After about 2 months though the boxes weren't really being checked any more. I was OK with this. I would hope that after that amount of time they would be able to remember what they were supposed to do on any given day. Soon after I noticed that the sheets weren't being consulted much either. Again, I was OK with it. As long as they remembered what they were supposed to do I didn't care if my system was being used.
We were gone a lot this last summer so after the first couple of weeks back in school when Hubby and I noticed that chores weren't being done at all we had a family meeting where we reminded the girls that they have a responsibility to the family to help everything run smoothly. We also changed up some of the responsibilities. That helped for a while because they had to go back to checking their sheets to remember what the new jobs were.
But then they started slacking again. So we started implementing punishment for not getting their chores done. For example if the dust mopping wasn't done by the time Daddy got home at 5:30 then that child would be doing the extra sweeping as well as dust mopping for a week. We did have to doll out punishments to all three of the girls for different things. It didn't take more than about two times of extra work being piled on for them to get the hint and start getting it done when they were supposed to.
The problem during all of this is that I would "help" the girls along by reminding them that they might want to get their chores completed. Or just asking if they got something done. Or flat out telling them to go do it right now. I can't even remember all the times I've reminded them about something and they'll say, "Yeah, I know," and then get so busy doing their own thing that they don't get it done. And it's gotten worse. I'm now constantly reminding them or asking them about their chores. Chores that by now they should have memorized what they are supposed to do when.
There are several problems with this. First of all, the reason I came up with my chore system was so that I wouldn't have to think about the girls' chores at all. Once I had them down on paper they should be able to read it and get it done without me having to constantly remember what they're supposed to be doing on any given day. Once I had it written out for them I emptied that space in my brain to fill with other necessary information. Like what I'm making for dinner tonight or what day I'm supposed to do laundry. Honestly, some days I feel like if I have to remember one more thing Hubby is going to come home and find my head has exploded. And then the girls will have the chore of cleaning my brain matter off the ceiling. Secondly, when they get a job their employer will not be reminding them what they have to get done and when it needs to be done by. At least not more than once or twice. I also think that not getting their chores done shows a lack of respect for the authority of their father and I. There needs to be a level of respect that if we tell them to do something it gets done without a reminder.
So Hubby and I have been thinking about how we can get this lesson across. Reminders and punishment haven't worked on a long term basis. Allowances are given as a way to teach good money management so we don't take them away as punishment. Plus, we don't pay the girls to get their chores done. They do chores because they're a part of the family, not because we pay them for it.
What we finally decided was that we needed to show the girls how them not doing their chores affects the entire family. They have been given chores to do because they are a part of this family, and everyone needs to do their part in order for the family to run smoothly. So we are going to show them what happens when Mommy "forgets" to do her job. Or when I get caught up doing something I enjoy and get my job done late.
Tomorrow night Hubby is going to come home and we're going to watch a movie in our room. They won't be invited to join us, they'll have to figure out something to do on their own. Then, because I'm doing something for myself, I'm going to forget to make dinner. When they remind me about it, as I'm sure they will be often, I'll just tell them I'll do it in a little bit. Something I hear quite often from them. The end result is that dinner is going to be cheese and crackers at around 8 p.m. Hubby wanted dinner to be skipped completely, but I thought that might be a bit much.
And then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we will be eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch and dinner because I'm going to forget to go grocery shopping. (For the record, Hubby and I both really dislike PB&J. This isn't going to be fun for us either). When they ask about food we already have I'll tell them it's for another meal, but since I don't have all the ingredients I can't make it. When they remind me that I need to go shopping I'm going to say something about being busy, or I'll go in a little while, or I don't feel like it right now. When they complain about the peanut butter and jelly we'll remind them to be thankful we have food to eat. We're determined that this will be something they won't soon forget.
Hubby and I were laughing a lot while plotting this plan. We've already figured out the logistics of where we'll hide our snacks to sneak throughout the day. Or how long we'll have to wait after they go to bed to get Taco Bell without them smelling it. We might have actually cackled and rubbed our hands together when we decided we would write their favorite meals down on our menu for them to see knowing full well we wouldn't be fixing them. We're not evil, but any parent will tell you that sometimes it feels like you're in a battle with your children. This is a war we don't intend to lose! If we can do it with a flare that will make them remember it longer, even better!
Our girls are pretty smart so I expect them to figure out what is going on before Saturday night. But we're going to carry it all the way through. And Saturday night we'll have another family meeting and we'll talk about what we all learned. Hopefully this is the last time we'll have to demonstrate the importance of getting chores done. If it doesn't work I just might resort to showing them pictures of brain matter and explaining how hard it will be to clean off our ceiling!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Weekly Wrap-Up: The first full week back
This week was our first full week back. We did a couple of days last week, but they weren't too eventful since we didn't do any extra work like science or geography. I find it is better for all of us to ease back in to school instead of starting full force!
This year is actually the first year that I have sat down and figured out exactly how many days or weeks we're going to need to get finished with everything. I've usually just gone through the book and stopped when we get to the end of the year. It's never been a problem before now. Usually we end up finishing almost everything ahead of time anyway. But Mystery of History is set up to have exactly 18 weeks each semester and I wanted to make sure we finished it this year, hence my taking a little more time to figure out how much time we needed for everything. My results were:
18 weeks of History
16 weeks for science
16 weeks for Bible
15 weeks for #1's IEW
15 weeks for all 3 in math
15 weeks for #3's First Language Lessons
14 weeks for #2's First Language Lessons
14 weeks for geography
All in all I was happy with the progress we made last semester. My only issue with history needing 18 weeks is that technically we'll only be doing school work for 16 weeks. However, the nice thing with MOH is that a lot of the work involved with it is the quizzes and tests after every 3 lessons. You take those away and the actual reading part doesn't involve much. So I get to pick a couple of weeks that the girls don't have to worry about the tests and just double up on reading. Not a problem!
So moving past my need to have a list for everything I do--this week was a good week. I found myself being done teaching earlier than last semester. Only by about 30 minutes, but I still noticed it. I chalk it up to the fact that we've switched so that #1 is doing IEW now and #2 is doing FLL. #1 has been doing IEW for longer so she requires much less teaching on my part. In fact, she wrote her entire paragraph this week starting with an outline without me doing anything except proof-reading her paper. I even had her proof-read it first so I could see if she would notice any mistakes she had made on her own. I was glad to see that she did correct several things on her own so that I only had to help her fix two grammatical errors. Still can't say enough how much I love IEW!
We also implemented another policy with #1 that she now has to write down her math problems on her answer sheet that I grade as well as her workbook where she works on the problem. I saw a pattern that most of the problems she missed was from reading the problem wrong or not clearly understand what she was supposed to do instead of her not knowing how to do the problem. There was a marked improvement once she started writing the problems down. I hated to do anything to add to the amount of time it takes her to get her math done since she already spends so much time on it, but since it made such a big difference we are sticking with the new format.
#2 is sailing right along in all subjects. Her printing is still atrocious, despite me making her take an extra year before learning cursive. Her cursive is very pretty because she has to go slow and take her time. She gets to writing so fast when she prints that it is just a mess. I've about decided to let it go though. Honestly, how much will she be writing by hand when she grows up? As long as she can read it, and I know she can have good handwriting if she takes her time I am almost past caring. Almost!
#3 is finally starting to get to where she likes to read more. I was really sad for a while because it seemed that she wasn't fostering a love of reading like my older two. But now that she is getting better at reading and doesn't require hardly any help with any words I find her reading on her own more. Yay! I'm not sure I would know what to do with a kid who I had to remind to read!
And I just realized a few days ago that I'll be needing to order Pre-K stuff for #4 next year. I don't believe in a "formal" curriculum for Pre-K, but there are some nice workbooks that I have found by Rod and Staff that are good for them to learn from without sitting for any great length of time. I started freaking out a little at the thought of having to be teaching all 4 in a couple of years, but I shoved the thought to the back of mind and I refuse to think about it for at least 8 more months. After writing it down on here of course...
So that was our week. I am still amazing sometimes when I see how well everything is going that I actually feel like I have a handle on this homeschool thing now. I remember feeling overwhelmed all the time when the girls were younger, constantly feeling like I didn't know what I was doing. This is honestly the first year I haven't felt that way. It's a nice feeling!
This year is actually the first year that I have sat down and figured out exactly how many days or weeks we're going to need to get finished with everything. I've usually just gone through the book and stopped when we get to the end of the year. It's never been a problem before now. Usually we end up finishing almost everything ahead of time anyway. But Mystery of History is set up to have exactly 18 weeks each semester and I wanted to make sure we finished it this year, hence my taking a little more time to figure out how much time we needed for everything. My results were:
18 weeks of History
16 weeks for science
16 weeks for Bible
15 weeks for #1's IEW
15 weeks for all 3 in math
15 weeks for #3's First Language Lessons
14 weeks for #2's First Language Lessons
14 weeks for geography
All in all I was happy with the progress we made last semester. My only issue with history needing 18 weeks is that technically we'll only be doing school work for 16 weeks. However, the nice thing with MOH is that a lot of the work involved with it is the quizzes and tests after every 3 lessons. You take those away and the actual reading part doesn't involve much. So I get to pick a couple of weeks that the girls don't have to worry about the tests and just double up on reading. Not a problem!
So moving past my need to have a list for everything I do--this week was a good week. I found myself being done teaching earlier than last semester. Only by about 30 minutes, but I still noticed it. I chalk it up to the fact that we've switched so that #1 is doing IEW now and #2 is doing FLL. #1 has been doing IEW for longer so she requires much less teaching on my part. In fact, she wrote her entire paragraph this week starting with an outline without me doing anything except proof-reading her paper. I even had her proof-read it first so I could see if she would notice any mistakes she had made on her own. I was glad to see that she did correct several things on her own so that I only had to help her fix two grammatical errors. Still can't say enough how much I love IEW!
We also implemented another policy with #1 that she now has to write down her math problems on her answer sheet that I grade as well as her workbook where she works on the problem. I saw a pattern that most of the problems she missed was from reading the problem wrong or not clearly understand what she was supposed to do instead of her not knowing how to do the problem. There was a marked improvement once she started writing the problems down. I hated to do anything to add to the amount of time it takes her to get her math done since she already spends so much time on it, but since it made such a big difference we are sticking with the new format.
#2 is sailing right along in all subjects. Her printing is still atrocious, despite me making her take an extra year before learning cursive. Her cursive is very pretty because she has to go slow and take her time. She gets to writing so fast when she prints that it is just a mess. I've about decided to let it go though. Honestly, how much will she be writing by hand when she grows up? As long as she can read it, and I know she can have good handwriting if she takes her time I am almost past caring. Almost!
#3 is finally starting to get to where she likes to read more. I was really sad for a while because it seemed that she wasn't fostering a love of reading like my older two. But now that she is getting better at reading and doesn't require hardly any help with any words I find her reading on her own more. Yay! I'm not sure I would know what to do with a kid who I had to remind to read!
And I just realized a few days ago that I'll be needing to order Pre-K stuff for #4 next year. I don't believe in a "formal" curriculum for Pre-K, but there are some nice workbooks that I have found by Rod and Staff that are good for them to learn from without sitting for any great length of time. I started freaking out a little at the thought of having to be teaching all 4 in a couple of years, but I shoved the thought to the back of mind and I refuse to think about it for at least 8 more months. After writing it down on here of course...
So that was our week. I am still amazing sometimes when I see how well everything is going that I actually feel like I have a handle on this homeschool thing now. I remember feeling overwhelmed all the time when the girls were younger, constantly feeling like I didn't know what I was doing. This is honestly the first year I haven't felt that way. It's a nice feeling!
Friday, January 17, 2014
The last 3 weeks. Or so....
I was super busy our entire break, unlike anyone else I'm sure. But I do want to show what all happened while we were off of school, so I decided to do it through pictures. But my mother has informed me that sometimes the pictures I send to her don't make much sense without some explanation. So I'll provide as brief a description as possible.
While trying to make some Christmas gifts I sat at a different place at the school table than I normally sit at. It's kind of hard to see, but one of the daughters had carved several things into the varnish. One of which is the word "Mom". Since #1 admitted it was her and that is where she sits when I teach her math, I'm about 97% certain that "Mom" was not written with love.
The parental units came to town which meant date night for Hubby and I. I even wore heels. It was momentous enough to warrant a picture.
Grandpa was also here for Christmas and his chosen activity with the girls was seeing how high they could build a domino tower. #1 came in second to my Mom. If you're wondering if they quietly took down all the dominoes you don't know my Grandpa. Or my Mom. And you probably don't have children because that is a silly question when you have kids. It's amazing how sound carries when your entire house is tile.
My Mom has this huge collection of Christmas earrings. Which I give her a hard time about because some of them could be worn to tacky sweater parties. She brought them all. And corrupted my girls by letting them wear some. And then she made me wear some also. And my girls loved every second of it.
Now that we've finally been let in on the secret of Coffee Call, we take everyone who comes to see us there. We were smart this time and got the beignet fingers. Still good and 10 times easier to eat. Also notice the sippy cup. The three older girls all came down with a fever, one right after the other. Nothing too terrible, just a general not feeling well. Thankfully everyone was well before Christmas.
I am finally good enough at playing 42 that I feel comfortable playing with my Grandpa. So we did. I always forget that the way old men play includes gripping about every hand, but I remembered rather quickly! I really do think that every older gentleman I've ever played with has played that way.
Christmas morning. This is as close to a posed picture as I cared to try to get.
Yay! Presents!
#1 and #2 got Kindle readers for their big gift. No way were we getting them anything with internet access or something to play apps on, but we figured that we travel enough that an e-reader made sense. And Hubby pointed out that if we only got one for them to share that they would have to be constantly working out a system of what was fair and who got it when. I thought it was an excellent point, so they each got their own.
And this is where she immediately went to start reading!
Hubby got me a new phone for Christmas. Well, it was a used one, but new to me. He knew I would not be happy to have him spend $400 on a phone for me. Anyway, the first thing I did with my new phone was take a picture of him!
I also got a Cricut Mini which I love and am super excited about! This was the first "sample" project you can make with it. That says thank you if you can't read it.
We finally got our cuckoo clock put up. It's really my in-law's, but they don't have a house to put it in so we got it so they can see it when they come visit. We'll get it to actually keep time correctly one of these days.
I used my new sewing machine A LOT to make different things for people. It was fun!
I finished my cross-stitch piece for my new nephew. It ended up being bigger than I wanted since I came up with the patterns myself instead of buying one, but other than that I thought it turned out well. I have a nice sister-in-law who puts my creations for her kids up without saying anything, even if she doesn't really like them! I'm most proud of the badge in the upper right corner--it looks a lot like his Daddy's badge.
Our first fire in the house for New Year's Eve
Putting the ornaments on the tree is my favorite part of decorating for Christmas. Each one holds a memory. Putting them up isn't too bad either. Mainly because I love figuring out how to get all the different boxes to fit in the container. I might have a little bit of OCD. Or just love Tetris--either one.
We got to meet my nephew CD. This is the only picture I have of him because I was holding him most of the time! Love babies--especially my nieces and nephews.
No special significance to this picture, they're just all so cute. Stinkers--but cute!
#3 turned 7. We were traveling on her actual birthday, but she got to go to her favorite Mexican food place once we got to my parents'. She requested the hat and singing this time. Sometimes I feel bad that we almost always celebrate #3's birthday around our extended family's Christmas, but then I remember that at least she gets to be around family on her birthday. The other girls rarely have that. So don't feel too bad for her. She usually rakes in more gifts that way too!
Uncle M taught us cool things like how to make a mask out of a slice of turkey and put it on our face
Aunt U makes up for Uncle M by playing picnic with the little girls. Because she's cool like that!
Uncle M is not the only one who corrupts in our family. I taught my niece the joy of sticking olives on your fingers and eating them off. And her Daddy can't do anything about it! Ha!
My child already knew how it was done!
We brought my niece, who is 6 months younger than #4, with us to my parents house for a few days before her parents and brother joined us. I got a small taste of what it would be like having twins. I have not stopped thanking God for giving my girls to me one at a time since!
It was so cold this day, but we bundled up and walked down to a little frozen pond to see if we could break through the ice by throwing rocks. Amazingly enough, a piece of gravel, thrown by a 3 year old, from several yards up did not break the ice.
Uncle M and Aunt U are awesome because they help the kids climb down to the frozen pond so they can get closer to try to break the ice. When that doesn't work Uncle M holds their hands and lets them get out on the ice. I did not take any pictures of those moments.
Getting ready for our annual scavenger hunt. Dad did it by himself this year without Mom's help. Let's just say the clues were interesting! And there was absolutely no cheating! Like sticking the envelopes under a log where they couldn't be seen. Because our family does not act like that at all!
This, friends, is just one of many reasons being part of a large family rocks. There were almost this many on the other side of the tree.
The gift from all of us to Mom and Dad this year. A friend at church who can actually paint painted the trees for me and then each of our families used our fingerprints to make the leaves on the trees. So the first one is my older brother and his wife, the second one is my family's, the third is my sister and her husband, etc. And yes, that one lone leaf on the orange tree is supposed to be there. People who know my family can figure out which kid that is and they'll knowingly nod their head. Wouldn't have him any other way! :)
So that was our break. We were busy and started school a little later because of traveling to see family, but it was totally worth it! I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone. But it was good to get back too. We're looking forward to getting back in the swing of things!
So that was our break. We were busy and started school a little later because of traveling to see family, but it was totally worth it! I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone. But it was good to get back too. We're looking forward to getting back in the swing of things!
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