Hannah and Sarah's plans for the future...

(from the back of the car driving home from a night out at Panera)
Hannah: Sarah, when we're grown up, do you want to eat out with me E V E R Y night?
Sarah: OOh, yes. But first... we have to buy a wallet. And a credit card to go in the wallet.
Hannah: Yeah! A wallet.
Sarah: Oh, but you know what? We'll also have to get a new place to live. Cuz that's what people do when they grow up; they find a new place to live.
Hannah: I know, we'll live with Nonnie!
Sarah: Yeah, that's a good idea... if she's not dead then. Mom, will Nonnie be dead when we grow up?
Mommy: (Stifling a laugh) I certainly hope not.
Hannah: Oh yeah, and lets go camping every day.
Sarah: No Hannah, I'm only gonna camp when I want to, not when you say so, cuz I'll be grown up.

You here that Nonnie? You can't keel over for a long time, because otherwise, apparently, your grand-daughters will be homeless. And you might want to guard your wallet :)

Love... Hate

Things I love:
Coffee- sipped leisurely with no interruptions, in my time, as prepared by me
Dark Chocolate
Naked baby butt
Novels- preferrably sci fi or period novels
Bones/crime drama
Ryan's cooking
Sushi
Fist/belly bumps during a workout
Hot baths
God-moments
Teaching my kids at home
Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
Finally being able to do a pull up
A balanced checkbook (on the first try)
a clean house

Things I hate:
Cold meals- served to me daily because somehow as soon as my food is ready and hot my kids have finished theirs and need "something else", cleaned up, or have spilled something. Mom's never get hot meals.
Waking up early- meaning before 7:30 am
Whining
photo editing
cooking
cleaning house with kids in tow
my bad memory
babyhood slipping away
taking time to shower, shave, and do my hair
yogurt
cream of wheat or rice on a hard-wood floor
Ryan's sharp tongue when irritated
The fact that Ryan thinks he's always right
The fact that he's usually correct
cold mornings
stickers

What are your love/hates... any we have in common?

The boy knows how to get what he wants...

When I went into Caleb's room to get him up this morning, his first words to me were this:
Caleb: "Cookie!"
Mommy: "No, baby, no cookies for breakfast... that's not good for you"
Caleb: "Cookie! Cookie!"
Mommy: (trying a different strategy) "No, we don't have any cookies. There are no cookies in this house" (sadly, this is too true)
Caleb: "Car! Get some! Car! Get some cookie!"

Gotta give him credit... the little guy knows how to get what he wants. He actually expected me to jump in the car and go to the store immediately for a cookie.
Much whining and gnashing of teeth ensued upon a negative answer to his request.

Preschool week 2

Measuring body parts and charting them
Self portraits

Caleb's puzzles (Hannah's a great helper!)

Computer time!

Week two of preschool is almost done now and we're still hanging in there. It's been tons of fun so far, but also a lot of juggling, now that Caleb doesn't nap in the morning. We're spreading our learning out over the course of the 5 week days so that the actual school time is only an hour to an hour and a half a day. Usually, Mon./Wed./Thurs. are our longer school days, with Unit study time, math-u-see lessons, and Writing/Reading lessons, along with a simple music lesson on Thurs. instead of a unit study, while Tues. and Fri.'s are shorter, usually with just a reading lesson and a fun unit study activity. The first week the kids learned about insects, while this week, our Unit Study has focused on God's creation of Man, so we've been learning about what makes us special and unique. We throw in a trip out for playgroup or somewhere fun, like the zoo at least twice a week, also.

Caleb has been involved in almost every day's lessons... he loves to pray, participate in Calendar time (we go over the month, day, and date each day with an interactive calendar), sing the bible verse memorization song of the week (this week, it's Psalm 33:4- You can trust God to keep his promises), and whatever crafts we're doing that week. Then, when the girls are busy with tougher stuff, he likes to color (thank goodness he no longer eats crayons/markers), work puzzles, stamp, play with playdough, and goof around with counting/sorting bears. He insists on being at the table whenever the girls are there.

So as not to cast it in an unfairly perfect light though, there are drawbacks to school so far. First of all, Caleb wants to potty train (yes, I didn't want it yet... I like diapers... so convenient and easy, without running to the bathroom every 10 minutes), so every few minutes we're interrupted by his adorably cute but interruptive call to "POO POO!"... which may or may not result in said poo-poo. Anymommy would agree I guess, if you've seen her recent posts (LOVE HER!). Also, dealing with three youngsters at once often leads to a cacophany of requests, interruptions, squabbles, and general glitter/paper scrap disasters on my floor. And yes, I am anal retentive and MUST sweep the floor after such messes before the next activity. MUST. I cannot bear the thought of one of my little ones tracking glue residue or glitter from their socks onto my carpet. C-A-N-N-O-T. Wish I was more flexible, but it's not gonna happen.

In the end, though, I'm over-the-moon-gleefully-joyful over being able to homeschool my little ones. And teaching/attending preschool in your pjs just can't be beat. It is a great adventure I just can't wait to undertake further. So here goes... here's to many more fun weeks to come!

Got your nose!

You can tell alot about a kid from playing "got your nose" (where you pretend you're taking their nose and show them your thumb between two fingers as if it was their nose)...
Hannah (at about Caleb's age): Laughed heartily and asked for more. Pretended to steal someone else's nose so she'd have a nose again
Sarah (also, when she was about 20 mo): Cried over her lost nose and demanded her nose back.
Caleb: Smiled brightly, leaned in, and bit my nose in an attempt to get a nose in return.
I love watching their different reactions to things... being their Mom is lots of fun!

Playing doctor...

You know when your kid has been to the doctor entirely too much when he builds an otoscope out of tinkertoys. This is Caleb's first creation with tinkertoys that is representational, meaning it represents something real. Normally he sticks stuff together randomly, but today he walked up to me with this, stuck it into my ear, looked in the hole on the other end, and declared, "Ear, good." Then he walked around to the other ear, stuck it inside, and said, "Good!" Apparently I don't have an ear infection, which is great news! I'm going to make a doctor out of the little guy yet!

Another cute milestone

Today Caleb began using "Please" "Thank you" and "You're welcome" in everyday, appropriate situations. The cutest thing is he says "peeeeez", "tink ooooo," and "wah-cum"... I forgot how precious it is when they begin to use those manners. It makes me want to pick him up and squeeze him to death with hugs and smother him with kisses. Esp. because he automatically says, "wah-cum" after he says "Tink ooo"... so for instance, after handing him a drink, I'll say, "What do you say, Caleb?"
"Tink-oooo.... wah-cum"
(Mommy melts into puddle of adoration)

On another note, the girls began going to vacation bible school this week at a nearbye church and have spent two days enjoying themselves apart from me. This morning they said, "Mom, we're going to have so much fun today, and you can't come, ok?" Part of me wants to be there for every ounce of fun and learning, and the other part is having a blast devoting my attentions to Caleb this week and is grateful they don't always need me right beside them. This is such a sweet season in motherhood, even if I do feel a bit batty sometimes.