Hannah is spending the week at MeeMaw and Kimpaw's, so Greg and I decided to take Millie out to dinner tonight. We were at Casa Ole, and Greg decided to take the cherries out of my Cherry Coke. I leaned over and whispered to Millie, "Tell Daddy, 'Thou shalt not steal.'"
So she looked Greg square in the eye and said, "Daddy, you should NOT sit still!"
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
I haven't heard that in years!
Today I had one of those moments that makes motherhood worthwhile. We were getting ready to head to the lake to visit Mom and Dad, and I needed to take a shower before we left. I quickly showered, then got out and started towel-drying my hair, when Millie walked in, patted me on the butt, and said, "You have a cute little bottom, Mama!"
Well, thank you, my sweet child! You are forgiven for every bad thing you have ever done, and you will have a brand new car in the driveway on your 16th birthday!
Well, thank you, my sweet child! You are forgiven for every bad thing you have ever done, and you will have a brand new car in the driveway on your 16th birthday!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
What is this stuff?!
Tonight I made pork loin for supper. The rotisserie chimed when it was finished, and this is the conversation that ensued:
Hannah: Mom, your porkling is ready.
Me and Greg: (Look at each other and start laughing.)
Me: My what?!
Hannah: Your porkling. You know, your chicken, your duck.
Me and Greg: (Continue to laugh.)
Hannah: Isn't that what it's called? Or is it oinkling?
And yet she's so darn smart!
Hannah: Mom, your porkling is ready.
Me and Greg: (Look at each other and start laughing.)
Me: My what?!
Hannah: Your porkling. You know, your chicken, your duck.
Me and Greg: (Continue to laugh.)
Hannah: Isn't that what it's called? Or is it oinkling?
And yet she's so darn smart!
Friday, February 20, 2009
100th Day of School
Today was our 100th day of school! Hannah has been eagerly counting down the days, knowing full well that I had planned some sort of celebration for today. And celebrate we did! Here's a peek at our day!
We started out the morning with "100" donuts to go with breakfast.
Our neighbor's granddaughter was visiting for a few days, so she joined us after breakfast for several of our activities. The girls put together a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle . . .
. . . and made Fruit Loop necklaces with 100 pieces of cereal on them. We came up with three different ways we could make 100, so everyone's necklace was different. Hannah had five colors with 20 pieces of each color, Millie had two colors with 50 pieces of each color, and Kaelyn had four colors with 25 pieces of each color.
In the background you can see some of the books we read. Some of our favorites were 100 Angry Ants, 100 Days of Cool, 100th Day Worries, and 100 School Days.
We counted pennies . . .
. . . and saw something magic happen when we closed our eyes at number 100!
I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of this, but we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went door-to-door with the wagon to collect 100 canned goods to take to Some Other Place. This was much harder than we thought; 100 cans is a lot of food!
And our last activity was to make "100 Goodie Bags" for our friends at church. We had 10 different types of treats, and we put 10 of each treat into a bag. Then we sealed them closed and attached a tag. Here's the front of the tag:
And here's the back of the tag:
And here is the finished product!
We made ten goodie bags; and since they each had 100 treats in them, we counted by 100's so they could see what happened when we got to the tenth bag. Instead of ten hundred, it became 1,000!
I'm exhausted, but I sure am glad the kids had such a great time!
We started out the morning with "100" donuts to go with breakfast.
Our neighbor's granddaughter was visiting for a few days, so she joined us after breakfast for several of our activities. The girls put together a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle . . .
. . . and made Fruit Loop necklaces with 100 pieces of cereal on them. We came up with three different ways we could make 100, so everyone's necklace was different. Hannah had five colors with 20 pieces of each color, Millie had two colors with 50 pieces of each color, and Kaelyn had four colors with 25 pieces of each color.
In the background you can see some of the books we read. Some of our favorites were 100 Angry Ants, 100 Days of Cool, 100th Day Worries, and 100 School Days.
We counted pennies . . .
. . . and saw something magic happen when we closed our eyes at number 100!
I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of this, but we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went door-to-door with the wagon to collect 100 canned goods to take to Some Other Place. This was much harder than we thought; 100 cans is a lot of food!
And our last activity was to make "100 Goodie Bags" for our friends at church. We had 10 different types of treats, and we put 10 of each treat into a bag. Then we sealed them closed and attached a tag. Here's the front of the tag:
And here's the back of the tag:
And here is the finished product!
We made ten goodie bags; and since they each had 100 treats in them, we counted by 100's so they could see what happened when we got to the tenth bag. Instead of ten hundred, it became 1,000!
I'm exhausted, but I sure am glad the kids had such a great time!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Kk Kangaroo
Today we completed the next phase in our journey through the continents. For the past week, we've been in Australia learning all about Kk Kangaroos!
We learned that a baby kangaroo is called a joey and that kangaroos use their thick tails to help them balance and their large feet to help them jump. (I have a sneaky suspicion that after you read the next sentence, you're going to think I made a typo; so let me assure you in advance that, although what you are about to read is shocking, it is 100% accurate.) We learned this week that in a single jump a kangaroo can hop 42 feet. Yes, 42 feet! And just in case you're spatially challenged, this is what that looks like:
Before we took this picture, Hannah and Camille stood at the edge of the driveway and jumped the farthest they could. Then we measured 42 feet to see how far a kangaroo can jump. Needless to say, the kangaroo won.
Some new vocabulary words during our study this week were herbivore and marsupial. We talked about some different kinds of marsupials, such as kangaroos (obviously), opossums, and koala bears. Then Hannah put on a jacket and made a pocket by only zipping it up halfway. She put Cupcake (her favorite stuffed animal) inside and carried her around for a while.
As we studied Australia, we started with the essentials: This is where The Wiggles and The Crocodile Hunter are from. After we got that out of the way, we went on to more mundane things such as locating it on the globe and discussing what an island is (another new vocabulary word). I have been teaching Hannah the names of the continents using a song I learned in elementary school, and this week she was able to recite them all from memory!
We made a little booklet with pictures of animals that travel by hopping. The only ones we could think of were crickets, rabbits, grasshoppers, frogs, and of course kangaroos. Surely there are more than that! If you know of any others, please leave a comment so I can add to these when Millie does Kindergarten in a few years.
We read some great books this week, including I Love It When You Smile; Norma Jean, Jumping Bean; Animals Should Definitely NOT Wear Clothing; and Katy No-Pocket. They were all books worth reading, but I think our favorites were Animals Should Definitely NOT Wear Clothing and Katy No-Pocket.
Our special words this week were "I am safe in God."
We discussed how God desires to protect us and keep us safe, but He can only do that when we stay close to Him. I used the old umbrella illustration and told Hannah that, just like we get wet when step out from under the protection of an umbrella, life can hit us pretty hard when we step out from under the protection of the rules God has established for us. It was a very sweet conversation.
I love the way this curriculum kind of puts the lessons out there for her to claim. It does't just say, "We obey God because that's what the Bible says to do." Instead, it explains the heart behind the requirement, which I pray is what will ultimately draw my children to their Savior and want them to remain tucked away safely in His pocket forever!
We learned that a baby kangaroo is called a joey and that kangaroos use their thick tails to help them balance and their large feet to help them jump. (I have a sneaky suspicion that after you read the next sentence, you're going to think I made a typo; so let me assure you in advance that, although what you are about to read is shocking, it is 100% accurate.) We learned this week that in a single jump a kangaroo can hop 42 feet. Yes, 42 feet! And just in case you're spatially challenged, this is what that looks like:
Before we took this picture, Hannah and Camille stood at the edge of the driveway and jumped the farthest they could. Then we measured 42 feet to see how far a kangaroo can jump. Needless to say, the kangaroo won.
Some new vocabulary words during our study this week were herbivore and marsupial. We talked about some different kinds of marsupials, such as kangaroos (obviously), opossums, and koala bears. Then Hannah put on a jacket and made a pocket by only zipping it up halfway. She put Cupcake (her favorite stuffed animal) inside and carried her around for a while.
As we studied Australia, we started with the essentials: This is where The Wiggles and The Crocodile Hunter are from. After we got that out of the way, we went on to more mundane things such as locating it on the globe and discussing what an island is (another new vocabulary word). I have been teaching Hannah the names of the continents using a song I learned in elementary school, and this week she was able to recite them all from memory!
We made a little booklet with pictures of animals that travel by hopping. The only ones we could think of were crickets, rabbits, grasshoppers, frogs, and of course kangaroos. Surely there are more than that! If you know of any others, please leave a comment so I can add to these when Millie does Kindergarten in a few years.
We read some great books this week, including I Love It When You Smile; Norma Jean, Jumping Bean; Animals Should Definitely NOT Wear Clothing; and Katy No-Pocket. They were all books worth reading, but I think our favorites were Animals Should Definitely NOT Wear Clothing and Katy No-Pocket.
Our special words this week were "I am safe in God."
We discussed how God desires to protect us and keep us safe, but He can only do that when we stay close to Him. I used the old umbrella illustration and told Hannah that, just like we get wet when step out from under the protection of an umbrella, life can hit us pretty hard when we step out from under the protection of the rules God has established for us. It was a very sweet conversation.
I love the way this curriculum kind of puts the lessons out there for her to claim. It does't just say, "We obey God because that's what the Bible says to do." Instead, it explains the heart behind the requirement, which I pray is what will ultimately draw my children to their Savior and want them to remain tucked away safely in His pocket forever!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Kids with kids
Well, it took Rose and me four weeks to come up with a goat visitation time that worked for both of us, but it couldn't have turned out more perfectly. She emailed Friday to let me know that one of their nannies had just given birth to twins!
This afternoon we stopped by the store to pick up some carrots and apples and headed to Rose and Wade's house. The girls were excited just to feed the goats, but they were in for a special treat when Mrs. Rose let them hold the babies.
Pretty much all of them liked the carrots.
But this is the only one that would eat the apples. Rose noticed that she was quite pregnant and wondered if this had something to do with it. Maybe goats have pregnancy cravings, too???
The pregnant goat kept trying to nibble the green ponytail holder in Millie's hair. I think she thought it was some type of green leaf!
I don't know if the girls had more fun feeding the goats or if I had more fun fellowshipping with a very wise friend. It was a great time for all of us and well worth the wait!
Praising God for His perfect timing,
This afternoon we stopped by the store to pick up some carrots and apples and headed to Rose and Wade's house. The girls were excited just to feed the goats, but they were in for a special treat when Mrs. Rose let them hold the babies.
Pretty much all of them liked the carrots.
But this is the only one that would eat the apples. Rose noticed that she was quite pregnant and wondered if this had something to do with it. Maybe goats have pregnancy cravings, too???
The pregnant goat kept trying to nibble the green ponytail holder in Millie's hair. I think she thought it was some type of green leaf!
I don't know if the girls had more fun feeding the goats or if I had more fun fellowshipping with a very wise friend. It was a great time for all of us and well worth the wait!
Praising God for His perfect timing,
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Pp Penguin
Today we finished our Pp Penguin unit--and journeyed to Antarctica along the way!
We started off our unit with a non-fiction book called The Emperor Lays an Egg, then moved on to March of the Penguins. No, we had never seen this before; yes, I realize we are probably the only family in the United States who hadn't; and yes, we now completely understand all the hype associated with it. Whatever the next step up from excellent is, that's what it was! I was amazed at how devoted the father penguins are, going without food for months and sometimes even dying as they stand in the freezing cold, caring for their treasured eggs and trying to keep them warm so they can reach maturity. And I get grumpy if my kids cause me to miss Dancing with the Stars?! Geez.
I also checked out Happy Feet, which is a movie about a tap-dancing penguin. At least that's what I think it's about. We couldn't watch it because someone was screaming too loudly since apparently cute little cartoon tap-dancing penguins are incredibly frightening! (It's moments like this when that PSA from the 80's echoes in my head: "Count to 10. Take hold of yourself before you take hold of your child.") I guess between this experience and the experience we had during our Hh Horse unit, I'm learning to just stick with books unless I find a documentary-type movie. Speaking of books, some of our fiction favorites this week included Whiteblack the Penguin, The Adventures of Marco and Polo, Flip and Flop, and Sergio Makes a Splash.
This unit was very rich in science! Not only did we study penguins themselves, but we also made icebergs by freezing water in ziploc bags. The next morning, we filled the bathtub with water and placed our icebergs in it so the girls could see that, although we only see the part on top of the water, there is still a lot of ice beneath the surface. Hannah got Millie's Little People seal and polar bear and let them take rides on the icebergs.
I told Hannah that we must have made North Pole icebergs if we have seals and polar bears roaming around on them because polar bears don't live in Antarctica. I find it interesting that, although they enjoy a similar climate, polar bears and penguins don't cohabitate. I truly feel like this is God's way of protecting penguins. Otherwise, these devoted creatures who stand so still while warming their eggs would be completely wiped out by hungry polar bears in search of an easy meal!
We pulled out the globe one day and found several areas where penguins live, including New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the Galapagos Islands. We used the blue arrows on the globe that mark ocean currents (never knew those were there before this week!) to track the cold water currents. This explained how some of these areas that seem too far north are still perfectly suited for penguins.
For one of our projects, we made an adorable penguin out of a black balloon. I would love to show you a picture of it; however, when you're a balloon animal living in a house under construction with two little girls who have very lax rules while said house is being rebuilt, your life span is very short. Rest in peace, little penguin!
Here is another one of her projects that was better able to survive our current environment. It's a painting of a penguin standing on a pile of snow during a blizzard. Notice the egg resting on his feet.
Those were the only "official" school projects we did this week, but Hannah came up with one on her own that I thought was great! Millie had her well-child exam this week; and while we were waiting to see Dr. Brown, Hannah made up the following story and asked me to write it down while she told it to me:
Penguin Finds a Home
Once upon a time, there was a penguin who didn't know what home it could live in. He found an iceberg that had a little door. But yikes! There was a polar bear inside! Then he saw an igloo. He went inside. Nobody was in there. He sat at the table, and he had a nice meal of fish. The End.
Awww...cute, huh?! I thought that could really be a fun children's book if someone elaborated on it and had the penguin make several attempts to find a home before finally finding the cozy igloo.
Our special words this week were "I show love to everyone, especially my family."
Apparently Hannah really spent some time thinking about these words. The following letter which I mailed to my dad today explains it all:
Dear Dad,
Please forgive that this letter is typed and not handwritten. It’s much faster this way, and time efficiency is a lifesaver these days!!! Just wanted to give you a quick explanation of what’s in this envelope.
Hannah is studying penguins this week. We learned a lot about Emperor penguins and the role the dad plays in caring for the young. The female lays the egg, then she goes back to the sea while the dad stays on land with the egg resting safely on his feet, nestled under his belly flap so it will stay warm. The father doesn’t eat during this entire time, which, by the way, is two months! Even after the chick is born, he still stays with it for another month, letting it rest on his feet under his belly flap so it can survive the elements. The mom eventually comes back when the chick is about a month old so she can have a turn taking care of it. By this time the father is starving and has lost half of his body weight.
That led to a conversation about what a good father the Emperor penguin is to take care of his baby like that.
That led to our special words for the week, which are “I will show love to everyone, especially my family.” We read a couple of Bible verses about not doing things for selfish reasons, but being humble and considering others better than yourself. We talked about several practical applications of this verse (none of which related to your birthday).
Then Hannah said, “I want to get Grandpa a birthday present!” I said, “Baby, his birthday was yesterday.” She said, “So! I’m trying to think about someone else and how I can put someone else first.” How could I argue with that?! So she grabbed her piggy bank and we loaded up and headed for Wal-Mart, where she picked out a present for you all by herself and used her money to pay for it. It was really neat. On the way home we talked about the expression “It is better to give than to receive,” and Hannah said she thought it was more fun to buy a present for you than to get one herself.
I thought it was a really neat experience and wanted to (1) share it with you, and (2) explain why you’re getting a random package in the mail!!!
Much love to both of you!!
Love,
Greg, Jen, Hannah & Camille
I love it when God gives us moments like this when we can see the fruits of our labor!
Praising the God of Encouragement,
We started off our unit with a non-fiction book called The Emperor Lays an Egg, then moved on to March of the Penguins. No, we had never seen this before; yes, I realize we are probably the only family in the United States who hadn't; and yes, we now completely understand all the hype associated with it. Whatever the next step up from excellent is, that's what it was! I was amazed at how devoted the father penguins are, going without food for months and sometimes even dying as they stand in the freezing cold, caring for their treasured eggs and trying to keep them warm so they can reach maturity. And I get grumpy if my kids cause me to miss Dancing with the Stars?! Geez.
I also checked out Happy Feet, which is a movie about a tap-dancing penguin. At least that's what I think it's about. We couldn't watch it because someone was screaming too loudly since apparently cute little cartoon tap-dancing penguins are incredibly frightening! (It's moments like this when that PSA from the 80's echoes in my head: "Count to 10. Take hold of yourself before you take hold of your child.") I guess between this experience and the experience we had during our Hh Horse unit, I'm learning to just stick with books unless I find a documentary-type movie. Speaking of books, some of our fiction favorites this week included Whiteblack the Penguin, The Adventures of Marco and Polo, Flip and Flop, and Sergio Makes a Splash.
This unit was very rich in science! Not only did we study penguins themselves, but we also made icebergs by freezing water in ziploc bags. The next morning, we filled the bathtub with water and placed our icebergs in it so the girls could see that, although we only see the part on top of the water, there is still a lot of ice beneath the surface. Hannah got Millie's Little People seal and polar bear and let them take rides on the icebergs.
I told Hannah that we must have made North Pole icebergs if we have seals and polar bears roaming around on them because polar bears don't live in Antarctica. I find it interesting that, although they enjoy a similar climate, polar bears and penguins don't cohabitate. I truly feel like this is God's way of protecting penguins. Otherwise, these devoted creatures who stand so still while warming their eggs would be completely wiped out by hungry polar bears in search of an easy meal!
We pulled out the globe one day and found several areas where penguins live, including New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the Galapagos Islands. We used the blue arrows on the globe that mark ocean currents (never knew those were there before this week!) to track the cold water currents. This explained how some of these areas that seem too far north are still perfectly suited for penguins.
For one of our projects, we made an adorable penguin out of a black balloon. I would love to show you a picture of it; however, when you're a balloon animal living in a house under construction with two little girls who have very lax rules while said house is being rebuilt, your life span is very short. Rest in peace, little penguin!
Here is another one of her projects that was better able to survive our current environment. It's a painting of a penguin standing on a pile of snow during a blizzard. Notice the egg resting on his feet.
Those were the only "official" school projects we did this week, but Hannah came up with one on her own that I thought was great! Millie had her well-child exam this week; and while we were waiting to see Dr. Brown, Hannah made up the following story and asked me to write it down while she told it to me:
Penguin Finds a Home
Once upon a time, there was a penguin who didn't know what home it could live in. He found an iceberg that had a little door. But yikes! There was a polar bear inside! Then he saw an igloo. He went inside. Nobody was in there. He sat at the table, and he had a nice meal of fish. The End.
Awww...cute, huh?! I thought that could really be a fun children's book if someone elaborated on it and had the penguin make several attempts to find a home before finally finding the cozy igloo.
Our special words this week were "I show love to everyone, especially my family."
Apparently Hannah really spent some time thinking about these words. The following letter which I mailed to my dad today explains it all:
Dear Dad,
Please forgive that this letter is typed and not handwritten. It’s much faster this way, and time efficiency is a lifesaver these days!!! Just wanted to give you a quick explanation of what’s in this envelope.
Hannah is studying penguins this week. We learned a lot about Emperor penguins and the role the dad plays in caring for the young. The female lays the egg, then she goes back to the sea while the dad stays on land with the egg resting safely on his feet, nestled under his belly flap so it will stay warm. The father doesn’t eat during this entire time, which, by the way, is two months! Even after the chick is born, he still stays with it for another month, letting it rest on his feet under his belly flap so it can survive the elements. The mom eventually comes back when the chick is about a month old so she can have a turn taking care of it. By this time the father is starving and has lost half of his body weight.
That led to a conversation about what a good father the Emperor penguin is to take care of his baby like that.
That led to our special words for the week, which are “I will show love to everyone, especially my family.” We read a couple of Bible verses about not doing things for selfish reasons, but being humble and considering others better than yourself. We talked about several practical applications of this verse (none of which related to your birthday).
Then Hannah said, “I want to get Grandpa a birthday present!” I said, “Baby, his birthday was yesterday.” She said, “So! I’m trying to think about someone else and how I can put someone else first.” How could I argue with that?! So she grabbed her piggy bank and we loaded up and headed for Wal-Mart, where she picked out a present for you all by herself and used her money to pay for it. It was really neat. On the way home we talked about the expression “It is better to give than to receive,” and Hannah said she thought it was more fun to buy a present for you than to get one herself.
I thought it was a really neat experience and wanted to (1) share it with you, and (2) explain why you’re getting a random package in the mail!!!
Much love to both of you!!
Love,
Greg, Jen, Hannah & Camille
I love it when God gives us moments like this when we can see the fruits of our labor!
Praising the God of Encouragement,
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