Out of the Mouths...

Funny remarks I recently caught myself saying to our sweet children lately...

"Stop nuzzling me and neighing at me!  You are NOT a horse!!"

"Please don't call him a silly goose, even if you think he's acting silly."

"That hurts!  Pliers are not for pinching people."

"Yes, you can be the baby unicorn...Baby Unicorn can you please obey and get in your bed, I mean barn?!"

"You have to wear something...underwear, a pull-up, a diaper...something!"

"Could you please stop putting your hand there?  It's not very nice.  Why?  Because I said so, that's why! {Yep, I said the forbidden words of parenthood!}"

"Quit poking strangers!  It's not nice.  Oh, you weren't poking the little girl?  You were just playing with her?  Well, please stop playing with strangers...they think you are being mean to them, NOT playing."

"Let me comb your hair, I mean, mane little horse."

"Ttt-rrruucckkk.  Say TTTTTTT-ruck, not...well...what you are saying."

"You're going to pull that down on your head...please stop."

Not Me! Monday

I did not find my son running around the house diaper-less on many occasions, all while yelling that he needed to go potty...and he did potty every time!!  Maybe our pediatricians "prediction" of Austin not being potty-trained until 3 yrs 3 mths is a little off...one could hope, right??

After his successful potty times, he did not insist on wearing big boy underwear the next day, and kept them dry by going on the big boy potty for several hours.  And, after our several hours in undies, I'm quite sure I am not ready to begin the potty-training stage officially yet! {He was not a little proud of his new undies and chose to pose for me...don't ask where he learned it, because I have NO idea!}

Due to my son's current interest in using the big boy potty, I did not find him enjoying a little "fun" in the bathroom while I was not looking...

And I am certainly not so frugal as to re-roll his mess, to be used as needed...

Our kids did not enjoy helping Pawpaw cut the hay in the field and count cows.  I think we have little farmers in the making...

I did not use Austin's naptime to finish planting {lots} flowers {thanks to Pawpaw Barton!} in my newest flower garden, while Katie watched me and a nice green frog from the deck.  After a few minutes of planting, I did not find Katie down in the dirt asking me for the frog.  When I explained that it should still be on the deck with her, she did not proceed to tell me that it should be in the grass below because she helped it jump down {which, by the way, is probably a good 7 ft jump}.  We did not then have to have a talk about how exactly is the right way to care for small creatures we find.  Here are our works (front and back yards) in progress... {couldn't find the poor frog to get a picture...}

Katie did not enjoy a little too much Wii time one day this week...so much so, that she had to lay down to climb the vines, swim, and fly with Diego.  I decided to plug it back up and let her play while I did some major house-cleaning, and it worked, and also wore her out! ;-)

Our Homeschool Happenings ~ Lesson One, Week 1-2

As I've made mention of in previous posts, I chose to use My Father's World's Kindergarten Curriculum for Katie this year.  In order to spend adequate time on each skill being taught, I have chosen to spend 2 weeks on each lesson in our curriculum.  Each lesson has 6 days of work, so Katie and I have 3 homeschool times per week, plus her weekly Friday co-op classes through MHCS. 

Up until this point, we have been quite laid back with our approach to homeschooling and our schedules.  It has taken much more planning to get used to our new schedule, but we are all enjoying it greatly! 

This week ends Lesson One of our material, and I thought it would be fun to share with you all at least some of what we've covered so far:

• worked on the letter "S", it's sound, and how to correctly write the letter.
• focused on the Sun and all that it does, including how the Sun makes raisins. 
• learned that Jesus is the light of the world, where that is in the Bible, what that means to us, and how we can be lights to the world.
• reviewed our colors and painted by using specific patterns.
• read as many books as we could find about the Sun, read poems about shadows, and had a little "shadow" fun!
• learned a new "a-a-Apple" song, which reinforces correct letter sounds in a fun, catchy way {Katie's new favorite song}.
• reviewed our numbers up to 16, while learning the days of the week and months of the year {an ongoing calendar project!}
• working on learning "how much is 100?", by counting and adding popsicle sticks to our cup for each lesson.
• played matching games with our upper-case and lower-case letters, and Katie is closer and closer to knowing them all perfectly!
• used our Cuisenaire Rods to help mature our counting, pattern-making, and critical thinking skills - Katie loves this activity!

• enjoyed learning about Mozart and Allegro piece of music, while trying to be "graceful" by balancing beanbags as we move to the music.

We're excited about our homeschooling journey and look forward to sharing more of our adventures (and more pictures) SOON!

"The King's Christmas List" ~ Book Review

I absolutely love Christmas books...especially children's Christmas books...and most especially children's Christmas books with great teaching inside!  Johnson's book, The King's Christmas List, is just that.  This is a charming hardback book with beautiful color pictures that tell a story of a young girl, Emma and her dog Shu-Shu.  Emma and Shu-Shu are invited to the King's birthday party, and Emma must find the perfect gift.  Her journey to the King's party leads her to several encounters of people in need of something that she could give to them.  By the end of the story and the journey to the King's party, she comes empty-handed, but leaves learning the best lesson of all - the gift of giving from the heart. 

We try to emphasis with our children the importance to help those in need, and one of those ways is for each of us to give things to others that may not have what we do.  This book is a great resource to help our children see in storybook form, the importance of giving to others, and how much it pleases our Heavenly Father when we put others first.  I would recommend this book to anyone with children or grandchildren!  It's the perfect giftbook for the upcoming Christmas season.  This book lists for $14.99, but can be found on Amazon for as little as $10.19.  I give this book a 5-star rating.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Austin's Birthday Party, Take 2

When we made it back home after the Labor Day holidays, we had lots of family that didn't get to see Austin and celebrate his birthday with him, so of course we obliged and celebrated again with cake, candles, and fun.

After my begging and pleading After my comment about having so much birthday-type cake in Mobile, my grandma volunteered to make her famous peanut butter cake for Austin's party, and I heard no complaints! ;-)

Austin continued his birthday tradition this year by finding more creative ways to enjoy his cake...

But I can't blame him there...the peanut butter icing is definitely worth licking off and enjoying!

We attempted to have Austin open gifts, but past a quick look here or there, he and the other kids had better things to do...

Better things, like digging in the rocks and dirt!

We decided next year could just be a digging party!  They all enjoyed that more than anything else!

Well, almost more than anything else...Austin did find time to attach himself to a new pair of shoes from Aunt Heather & Uncle Kyle, which, by the way, are at least 2 sizes too big! 

Lots of fun times with our family, celebrating Austin's 2nd birthday!

Wordless Wednesday

It was quiet in the house,

so I started looking for the kids, and this is what I found...

Katie's First Day

Friday was Katie's first day of her kindergarten homeschool co-op classes with MHCS.  Katie is not truly in kindergarten, yet, but in the homeschool co-op, parents are able to put their children where they feel they should be for the classes.  Not bragging {too much, at least *grins*}, but Katie is much more on the kindergarten level than the preschool one.  So, we chose to let her join the other kindergarten children (mostly 4-6 yr olds) on Fridays. 

I didn't take my camera into classes on Friday, because I didn't want to be a hindrance to the teachers, but I did take a quick picture before she left for her first day of school.  She was so excited! 

This year, Katie's classes include:  Art (K-2nd grade class), Hands on Science (K), and Can't Sit Still (K).  And, after seeing her in her classes, I don't think either of us could pick a favorite...she loves them all!

In Art, Ms. Michele asked the children to draw a picture of a face complete with hair, eyes, nose, etc. when they arrived to class.  This is Katie's face:

Upon completion of their drawings, Ms. Michele asked them to turn over their pictures and told them she would be teaching them how to make a "right" (or correctly-proportional) face.  Katie watched and followed directions very carefully, and ended with this face:

I had a great time getting to watch the children make such progress with their pictures, and must say I was quite impressed with how well Katie did!  She even wrote her name by herself, which is newly-learned.  I think she's about to start begging for a new name, though...she gets so frustrated when she does her "K" and doesn't make it look like she thinks it should.  My little perfectionist... ;-) 

In Science, they got to watch live ants inside an ant habitat...see how the make tunnels, pick up sand and food, etc., and learned about several other well-known insects.  They colored, and also worked on making pictures of different insects by using blocks and patterns. 

And in Can't Sit Still, they didn't sit still!  They played learning games about the months of the year and days of the week through songs, and they had lots of silly time mixed in! 

I think she is doing a great job in her kindergarten classes and will have lots of fun over the next year!  We let her pick out her very own school backpack to take with her for snacks and papers, and she was thrilled!We're looking forward to seeing all of the progress our big girl makes, so look forward to seeing updates often of our homeschool journey.

Austin's 2nd Birthday Party

As most of you know, our sweet Grandma E passed away on Austin's 2nd Birthday.  It was one of those bitter-sweet days for our family.  So, of course, Austin's birthday and party was put on hold for a while, and thankfully, he didn't even notice!

We were able to spend a nice amount of time with our Mobile friends and family during the week following Austin's birthday, which was great!  And in that time, we had Austin's 2nd Birthday Party with our friends and family. 

Since Austin adores any kind of "vroom vroom", we let him choose his theme, and he chose Disney "Cars", or as he calls it "QUEEEN!!!" ;-)

Austin had so much fun blowing out the candles this year, but even more than that, he loved singing "Happy Birthday" to himself along with everyone else.  It was so cute!

And, he found very creative ways of enjoying his delicious cake...SEE??

We all had lots of fun celebrating his birthday with our Mobile family and friends, and were so thankful to be able to spend time with so many of them!

He is one well-loved little boy...blessed to have so many dear family and friends to help make his birthday extra special, just like him.  :-)

"Out Live Your Life" ~ Book Review

I was given a complimentary copy of Max Lucado's newest book "Out Life Your Life" for review from Booksneeze.  I was so excited to get the opportunity to review this book, as I have always been challenged by Lucado's writing.  This was no exception.  Lucado uses this book to help us all to see that we were made to make a difference, and we can make a difference to someone.  This book was written in a very easy to read style, that gives you visual pictures of the stories/examples being told.  Much of his book is based out of the New Testament, showing how Christ served and helped those in need, and changed the world.  Though we may not be able to help everyone, we can all help someone.  This book challenged me to try to focus on those around me and how I can reach out to them in a Christ-like manner. 

I think this is an excellent book for any Christian to read, especially any Lucado fans.  This book is one of best, and that says a lot, as I haven't read any that were not great!  Be sure to add this to your book list this year!

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Boy Who Changed The World

I recently read “The Boy Who Changed The World” by Andry Andrews as part of the Booksneeze book review team. I think this is a great book of historical accounts of boys who did what they felt was right, which led to world-changing events, including the story of Henry Wallace and George Washington Carver.   It is a unique way to show children (and adults) that even a small child or a small action can truly make a difference.


My daughter, almost 4 years old, enjoyed hearing this book and seeing the beautiful pictures. She did not completely grasp the “full circle” of events (and how they were connected) at first, but we spent time discussing it, and she was able to summarize the story and lesson. We have since read the book several times and enjoyed it.  As stated best by Mr. Carver, "God made you to make a difference, and I believe you will."

I would recommend this book for mature elementary age children through adulthood. I think, regardless of age, we can all be reminded of a great lesson through this great book by Andy Andrews!

I received this complimentary copy in return for my reviews and opinions. The opinions above are mine and honest.

"Let's Do Lunch" ~ Book Review

I recently read "Let’s Do Lunch" by Roger Troy Wilson as part of the Booksneeze book review team. There are dieting books and plans galore…some count calories or grams, some limit specific food groups, some limit amounts, some use the point system, and many other limitations. I chose to read and review “Let’s Do Lunch” to hear a dieting approach that differs from all others I’ve heard of, while losing weight and keeping it off.


I for one, find it hard to stick to most diets for longer than a few weeks or so. After a few weeks, I just can’t stand to be without the specific food group, etc., any more and go back to my old ways and worse! Mr. Wilson’s plan is different. His whole emphasis is to be able to eat what you want (regardless of caloric intake) until you are full and still be able to lose weight and keep it off. Sound too good to be true? I thought so, too! However, after finishing his book, he has me curious enough to want to give it a try. Who would want to pass up a diet that gives you the freedoms that you so often give up in dieting, while letting you lose weight and keep it off? Not me!

I love his honesty…honesty that many writers would not care to admit when writing about how to lose weight (lack of exercise, etc.). And, I think it is great that he included a great selection of easy recipes and meal planners. Sometimes the planning is the hardest part of a diet! I’ve already passed this book along to family to read and see if they want to try it out. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh new way to diet without all of the rules, limitations, and numbers to keep up with! I’m going to give it a try, and I think I’m going to start out by trying those frozen grapes!

I received this complimentary copy in return for my opinion and review. The opinions above are mine and are honest.  If you would like, you can purchase this book on Amazon, by using this link:  Let's Do Lunch: Eating all the Calories and Carbs you want to lose weight!