B is for Balboa Beach

We study a letter a week for school. We started this when 8 was in kindergarten and it's been such a fun thing for our family that we keep on going. We do take breaks for holidays or other things, and I only go through the alphabet once for the school year. Two years ago we read through My ABC Bible Verses. Last year we did alphabet Muffin Tin lunches. And this year I'm teaching the kids about a hymn a week to go with our letter. I've got some great books/CD's that talk about the story behind the hymn. The books don't go in alphabet order so I've chosen our arrangement of songs. This week we'll be learning about "Blessed Assurance." And some other fun B's in our week... BBQ Burgers and Baked Beans, Blueberry Bars, Breaded Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Baked Potatoes, Bean Burritos, and...Balboa Beach! Sunday night we enjoyed a Bonfire with some CSUF Exchange Students. That was a great way to close out the weekend.

8 & 7

7 & 5 (Is it any wonder I've been asked if they're twins?)

My toes in MY beach! This is the beach I lived at the summer of 1995.

And the fog didn't roll in so we were able to enjoy a sunset! Amazing!

First Day of School

8 is starting 3rd grade. He'll be 9 in November. He's grown up so much this year. Yesterday he rolled his eyes when M walked into the Disney store at the mall. It won't be long and I'll have a tween on my hands.

7 is starting 2nd grade. He'll be 7 1/2 at the beginning of September. He's totally a middle child. And right now he's torn between growing up with his brother and staying little with his sister. Maybe this is the best part of being the middle, he gets the best of both worlds.

My princess is 5 and starting Kindergarten today. She's already lost 4 teeth. She's out to breakfast right now with her M. That's our Kindergarten tradition.

Ducks

We were able to attend the First Flight Field Trip a little over a week ago. It was so fun! The last time we went was 3 years ago...right after I started this blog. Here's my fans!

The Ducks skated around like during a typical practice. Then they did a skills competition. 6 loved the shots measured for speed. 8 loved the shots judged for style points.

The kids learned great things about math and science. And we got to hang out as a family.

8 was 3 for 3 in blocking shots.

And 6 was 2 for 3! Great job guys!

The Fire Department!

We took a field trip to the Fire Department with our homeschool group. It was so much fun. I think my favorite part was the vintage engine.

6 loved the fire pole. I know he really wanted to slide down. Just like he REALLY wanted to pick up the Jaws of Life after they told the kids it was too heavy for them and not to try picking it up.

Here the kids are totally intrigued by the equipment the firemen were showing them. Just seconds later they were all covering their ears when they demonstrated one of the alarms that could go off when oxygen was running low.

Here's the whole group of kids. We're really blessed to have such a great group. We've enjoyed every field trip and party and park day we've had together.

And here's a video of the boys. I shut the camera off too soon, but at least I got them both. 4 didn't even want to touch the fire hose.

This week, we've got a hockey field trip coming up. And now that the shuttle finally launched, we've got an SDO packet from NASA to plan to use. We've got a lot of science going on here.

Vote for Jenna!

A friend of ours has a photo that could win! Please go vote for Jenna's Snowman. I know how much this would mean to the family. Vote Here. You can vote once per day. And I'm thinking that I should ask for a pound of that coffee if I bring in a ton of votes. ;0)

Knitwise: I've got 9 rows and the BO for my Ishbel. It looks like my next projects need to be hats and mittens for the family. If the money thing remedies itself, then the In-Laws are taking us to 5300 feet for New Years Day 2010. There might be snow...but at the very least it will be cold.

Schoolwise: It is so hard for me to stay focused right now with M home...but having lunch and dinner as a family is a real treat. When he's working he gets home after I feed the kids dinner most nights.

Wish I had more time right now...but M is off to an exam this morning. He's still working on his ARE. I'm off to CBS. Well, 4 just woke up and her nose is a bit stuffy. I'll see if she's ok before we head out the door. It's a brunch morning. I HEART brunch. Especially those potatoes. J's bringing potatoes. =0) I'll post a recipe on my other blog soon. Happy Friday!

I think I can at least update...

I'm overwhelmed these days.

Momwise: How can our house be so full of clutter. In January, I spent a week emptying the kids closets and gave away bags of things. I want a week in my house without my kids. A week where I wouldn't have to cook for or pick-up after the kids. A week when I could empty their closets again without them whining when I want to give away a toy they haven't played with in the last 6 months.

Schoolwise: I've planned for school some, but I need to make a day trip to a copy center and get everything ready. Our weeks that were the most successful last year all began with me pulling out a file that had been prepped during the summer. With three kids, if I can't produce the nest lesson/page/activity within seconds, I've lost their focus.

Catwise: We've had Rex almost a year. I need to find a vet for him as he'll need his shots soon. And we'd like to take a vacation, but he requires A LOT of attention. It's hard to find a cat sitter that wants to spend a quantity of time with your pet. My mom is out of the question as she'll be going with us. I'm thinking we need to find someone to live in our house.

Knitwise: I wish for more time in the day....

I don't have a fancy title...

Ok...so I didn't win the bike in my sidebar. But, you can see who did here. I think she deserves it way more than I did.

Kidwise: VBS was last week at our church. It was so fun for the kids. I don't think I actually relaxed any more by not working at VBS. I was busy keeping 4 having fun while her boys were at church. 6 really understood things more completely this year, and after church on Sunday he prayed to accept Christ. I'm praying that he grows in his faith.

Healthwise: 7 had his ear rechecked on Friday at our primary care Dr. She was concerned enough to send us on to an ENT. We saw the ENT on Monday. There is a large scab on the eardrum keeping his hearing from returning to normal, but it appears that the hole in the eardrum is healed. The ENT looked into the ear with the normal scope, then took 7 down the hall to use a microscope. He can get the ear wet now...and we'll go back in 6-8 weeks to see if the scab has fallen out. Pray it falls out on its own, or we'll have to look at having it removed. =0(

Knitwise: The positives out of the Dr's appointments...knitting time for me. Bummer though because I ripped out all the progress I made. I'm working on the Sanity Socks from last August. I had a completed set, but one sock was too big. I decided it was worth frogging and making the socks the same. I've been so stressed out, I was knitting too tight and now that 2nd sock was 1/2" smaller (width) than the 1st. I'm starting on that sock for the 4th time!

Schoolwise: I can't believe our First-Day-of-School is less than a month away. I'm so not ready. But then...I am ready to be back to our routine.

Sorry there's no photos...this is how I started the blog when the little ones were 5, 3, & 1. Updates and stories. Things I needed to remember...and things I need to process. So many friends have been talking about the changes in blogging...and bloggers disappearing. I know life is SO BUSY. That's just it for me. But, this blog is SO important to my mental health...I'll continue...even if no one reads. The friends I've made here are just a bonus. I'll do my best to blog...even if that means less photos. I'm blogging from my laptop...all the photos are on the external drive with my desktop. Hmm...I need to figure this out.

Just Checking In...

I've had some fun posts planned in my head. Lots of Red White & Blue family fun. Some finished knits. Some kid art. But, the photos for all these things are on the desktop, and it seems I'm only on my laptop these days. I do need to update something...so here's the bullet points.

Healthwise:

• Only one kid had the tummy bug! That's a HUGE praise!
  
• I've not been feeling well though...something different though. I'm frustrated that I might have to go to the Dr. tomorrow.

Kidwise:

• Both boys have learned to swim! 2 down/ 1 to go.
• A lot of life feels like that (2 have learned to read, write, ride a bike, swim...and one to go...I don't want to miss the fun things that are happening right now...but I can see that my kids will demand less of me when all three can participate).

Momwise:

• I'm not sure if it's the laid back attitude of summer or what, but I'm feeling blue. I'm not sure how I want to fix this either.
• I'm not finding time for the things I need...reading, knitting, exercise.
• And I NEED to be purging too-small clothes from the kids closets.

Schoolwise:

• I'm working on planning school for next year. Mostly, this has me going through last years stuff and putting papers in the recycle bin. I'm also cutting up magazines for future collages (I save images we might need and get rid of the rest...boy did we have a lot of magazines.)
• I bought a cute ABC scrapbook for our Alphabet study next year. I've never really scrapbooked, but I think this will be a fun way to remember our year.

Knitwise:

• I CO for Cece (chic knits) for my mom. I hope I can have it finished for the start of school.
• I'm also working on finishing up some 2nd socks.

Guess that's it. I really want to work on Finding Joy in my everyday life. I think there's a book I need to buy.

*** ETA*** 7 (the one with the tummy bug that probably wasn't a tummy bug) threw up again this morning. This time I'm pretty sure it's an ear infection. I'm waiting until 9am to call the Dr. and try to get 2 appointments. One for him and one for me.

School's Out...

and what do I do except start planning for next year! WHAT?! Am I crazy?! Last year I took June off and tried to plan in August. That didn't go as I'd wanted it to...August was crazy with no drywall in the living room, holes in the ceiling, and M out of work. This year, I'm trying to throw in as much as possible early...and then take the last half of the summer off. We'll see how that goes. Since I'm looking around...and even if no-one's interested...here's what I've got so far.

7: will be 8 in the fall, starting 2nd grade

• Singapore Math 2A/2B
• Houghton Mifflin Readers
• Zaner-Bloser Cursive
  

6: starting 1st grade

• Singapore Math 1A/1B
• Houghton Mifflin Readers
• finish up the 2nd year in SSR&W
  
• Zaner-Bloser Manuscript
  

4: starting pre-K (she INSISTS she's ready for Kindergarten...so we'll be doing enough school to keep her occupied...who knows, she's learned a LOT from her boys)

• Houghton Mifflin Kindergarten Math
• Bob Readers
• Sing-Spell-Read-&-Write for Manuscript
• Letter-A-Week

For the family: continuing the States. This year, I'm going to try to keep that blog going. We'll finish the 50 still coloring the state, coloring the flower & bird, reading a fun book, and trying some new food. This will cover social studies and some science. Also our writing will be taken from prompts about the states.

For the boys: Apologia Astronomy Science (with Dad). We'll be using the notebooks that are new. I'm excited about next year, even though I'm still exhausted from this year.

I want to win...

I'm planning on using the Apologia Astronomy for our science next year. I've read so much about their curriculum, I'm really excited. So today, I saw that Jeannie is having a contest for one of her notebooking journals. I would love to win one. If I don't, then I'll be ordering one in the next month anyways. So...I'm posting about her contest here. And if you're a homeschooling mamma and you've not ever looked at apologia...check it out.

Apologia is now producing notebooking journals that accompany each of the elementary science books. Both Botany and Astronomy are now available. You can see samples on the Apologia website here:

These journals are beautiful spiral bound notebooks that will save you time and money. You won't have to print and keep up with your child's notebook pages, buy and maintain page protectors, or purchase and compile binders...everything that makes notebooking time-consuming and labor intensive for mom. Also, your child will adore having their own notebooking journal.

Each of the notebooking journals include:

• A daily schedule for those who like to have a plan or would like their children to complete the book on their own
• Templates for written narrations, the notebooking activities and experiments
• Review Questions
• Scripture Copywork, with both print and cursive practice
• Reading lists and additional activities, projects, experiments for each lesson
• An appendix with beautiful, full-color, lapbook-style Miniature Books
• Field Trip Sheets to keep a record field trips
• A Final Review with fifty questions the students can answer either orally or in writing to show off all they remember and know at the end of the course.

See the sample pages here:

Botany: and Astronomy:

Jeannie is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on her site. Visit her blog to learn more about this contest: www.jeanniesjournal.com

The contest ends on in one week on May 29th!

Spring Forward

Not so much springing here. Whoever invented the time change must not have had children. We're s.l.o.w.l.y adjusting to the new time. I LOVE that it's light later. I just wish we wouldn't have to 'fall back' in the fall.

I haven't done a post like this in awhile.

Momwise: I haven't used an alarm clock regularly in years. The kid alarm clock is much more dependable. 2 of my kids are early risers. 7:30 is considered sleeping in. They're usually up between 6:30 and 7. But this year, the kid alarm clock wasn't so effective on Sunday, first day at the new time, so we missed church. And today (you'd think I would have learned after the first day, but I didn't) we woke up at 9am and had to be at our field trip (that I was in charge of) at 9:45. I was able to get the kids fed, pack a picnic, dress myself, help 3 with her shoes, and get out the door within 30 minutes. That was some kind of miracle since it usually takes at least an hour for my coffee to kick in. ;0) I'm thrilled to have 3 potty trained kids, and ones that can dress themselves, and also buckle themselves in the car. A year ago, with one kid still in diapers, and needing help getting dressed, and a 5pt harness in the car...we would have totally missed the fieldtrip.

Kidwise: 6 had a wonderful birthday! Thanks for the happy wishes. 7 told 3 that it's her birthday next so she's been asking every morning if it's her birthday yet. Her birthday is at the end of April. 6 said we can just tell people that she's turning 5 instead of 4 since she's so tall.

Knitwise: I finished my Bird-of-Paradise socks. (I'll get photos up as soon as the new computer is running. Hopefully this week.) I had to finish those socks to CO for the Spring Forward socks. Perfect pattern for this week! I'm using my Scout's Swag February Sock Club Yarn. Scout got her inspiration here. I hope it's ok for me to use that link. I knew that this was the pattern for this yarn, but when I first CO the ribbing came out perfect, then I must have held the yarn too loosely because it was worse than pooling. I was able to rip back to the ribbing, and just by holding the yarn tighter get perfect pink and green/yellow stripes. Yeah! I'm loving this yarn/pattern combination. I just need to decide how many repeats to do before I start the heel.

Catwise: My BIL got some amazing shots of the Rex while he was here for 6's party. I'll share them when he sends a link. Rex is getting a little fat. I'm not sure if this is closer to a normal weight for him as he was so scrawny when we got him from the rescue. Anybody know about how many pounds an average cat weighs? Is there such a thing as average?

Blogwise: I need to find a new rhythm. I really miss getting my thoughts out. I miss taking photos and posting them. It was a "me" thing. I didn't do it for M, or for the kids, or even because I had to. I did it for me. It was FUN. It still is FUN. But it seems that the FUN is what's been sucked out of my life as I started working evenings and began homeschooling the 2nd kid. Life is busy. I don't want it to be so busy that I can't blog.

Schoolwise: I really, really miss recording my homeschool stuff. It was so easy to print samples last year when I had photographed our adventures. Now, I'm lucky if I remember what week we did what. I started a blog just for our States study. I am determined to go back and post stuff from this fall. We're having so much fun, we'll be continuing with the states next year and I'll want a record of our 2 year "Journey across America."

State Flowers

I don't have a flower photo to share today, but I've been looking at flowers all day. In preparing for our 2008-2009 school year, I've been printing off color pages with state flowers and birds. I'm getting these from homeschool share.

Last fall, 6 started to ask what 1st grade would look like (he's always thinking ahead). He asked what we would do after our Nations study. He though for a minute, then suggested we study the states. This spring, as I started to think about next year, I decided he was right. We've enjoyed our Five in a Row studies. And since I pulled books from all 4 volumes to match each country we studied with our co-op, the books about America are the ones we have left. It will be a good fit.

A friend gave each of my boys a copy of Our 50 States. It's a beautiful book! We'll really enjoy using it this entire year as I've taken the road map from the inside cover as a way to schedule our calendar. We're beginning with Massachusetts in September and ending with Hawaii in May. We'll cover about half of our 50 states...and read many fun books along the way. I'm going to record our journey here. I hope I can keep up with it the entire year. I still have half of last year saved as drafts ready to post. I will finish those up as I'm able to add the photos.

In a way, this will be a virtual version of my dream RV trip. I'm not sure we'll ever have the money to take a real trip like this. But, if we get the chance, our notebooks will serve as fun travel guides.

This is the part of homeschooling that allows me to keep my 3yo excited about school (reading and coloring) and engaged with our 'group' school time. This is the part that I'm sure I can do. This is the creative part of me that comes naturally. The language arts and math have me a bit (or maybe a lot) nervous as I'll be teaching 2 kids next year. It's hard to have one-on-one time with each of my kids. If you've got any great suggestions on that...let me know.

What A Weekend

We started the weekend with 5's party at our house. Monster Trucks for this 5 year old! Dad took the boys to the Monster Jam about a month ago. We would have gone closer to the actual birthday, but they were in some other state at that time.

He chose Love Potion #31 with chocolate cake (we heart Baskin Robins).

I bought a paint-your-own kit for the kids to do during the party. 6 chose green, 5 chose red, and 2 got purple...of course...she was the only girl.

His favorite gift....


Then, my nephew's party was Saturday at the bowling alley. Aren't tiny bowling shoes cute!

Then Sunday, after barely making it to church (I'm the one who struggled with the time change), another party for a 4 y.o. friend. This party was complete with a petting zoo, pony rides and a bounce house. The kids jumped and jumped and I'm the one who's exhausted.

This week I'll be pouring more of myself into the homeschooling part of my day. With the latest in California, our E.F. (educational facilitator) has requested we file our samples differently. And our scheduled visit is this Friday. So, please excuse me if I'm not around much this week. Homeschooling is hard work, but work I love. Paperwork...not so much my thing.

First Day of Kindergarten

I'll take photos later...today is a special day. Right now 5 is out to breakfast with his dad. Such a special treat for the first day of school. 4 is a little sad. He said, "I thought today was my first day of school too..."

***ETA*** If anyone is really interested here's the rest of yesterday's story.

Sidekick and some organizing.

Knitwise: Here's my Sidekick. I've just started the 2nd ball of yarn. I love the striping. And I'm sure this denim color will be great for me...or maybe I'll decide to give the bag to a friend. You just can't go wrong with something that matches your jeans. On the size 11's this is knitting up super quick. I tried to be all artistic with the photo in our hydrangea...and check out the wiffle ball! =0) Schoolwise: I didn't get as much knitting done this weekend as I would have liked. We made a trip to IKEA (it was so much easier since Nana has 2.) We had breakfast there...then picked up this shelf for our school stuff. I think organizing will help me to freak out less. Notice I didn't say "not freak out"...I just said LESS. One of my biggest fears is being able to keep track of all the books. The ones from our charter resource library, the ones that are consumable and we don't have to return, the ones from the city library, and the ones we own! Now they are in separate cubbies. Hopefully that works or we'll owe lots of places $$$ at the end of the year.
I'm most proud of the work I did to organize loose papers into binders. The garden binder has ideas for us...we dream of a wood burning pizza oven. Wouldn't that be so cool! And I really want to be the house all the kids hang out at...so I can keep an eye on mine. I think that would be a kid magnet. The food binder holds all the recipes I've torn from magazines. Some I've tried...some I'd like to try...and some I probably never will. The travel...isn't as exotic as it sounds. I've pulled weekend trips and drives from Sunset or AAA and I'm collecting places I'd like to take the kids. And the KNIT...I've finally gathered all my patterns in this binder. YEAH!

Healthwise: I did minimal walking at IKEA since that can be a workout. I took every shortcut...since we knew just what we wanted and we're so familiar with the store...I really didn't do excessive walking. But still, by the time we loaded the shelf on the cart...I was in such pain that I sat on top of the cart and the kids climbed up with me and M pushed us all through the store. I'm super frustrated that I'm able to do all that I want. M took the boys to Disneyland today without me. I would have needed a wheelchair. =0( I don't want to complain....I just am so sad that my kids see mom as weak. I want to be a fun mom...and I can't even walk on uneven surfaces...that means at the park, I have to stick to the sidewalk and not take the grass. Who would have thought it would turn in to this. Thursday will be 6 weeks...

I feel like a dork.

Friday Flowers:
Last night as I was getting ready for bed...I realized that yesterday wasn't FRIDAY!!! So, I wasn't just posting my Friday Flowers early. I worked extra hard to get that out yesterday morning with everything else that was going on. I guess I can just TGIF today...again. So, tonight I'm meeting with F and L for knitting.

Schoolwise:
This morning our EF (educational facilitator) is bringing over the rest of our curriculum and working out the first few weeks of school with me. Sometimes when I remember that we begin school on the 27th (we're using a charter...so we have set start/end dates) I freak out a little. While I'm totally convinced that HS is the best choice for my family...I'm not convinced that we'll still have clean clothes to wear.

Healthwise:
Thanks to those who've asked. I am healing. I think this is a slow process. Yesterday, since it wasn't Friday, was 3 weeks. I'm able to walk...and most days I can handle my responsibilities at home. I do all this with a brace on. And if I take the brace off, then my leg feels like a spaghetti noodle. The part that's made this difficult is that it's my right knee. And I can't drive! I can't push on the gas for very long...and my leg doesn't have the power available to push the brake. I can't imagine if there was a need for me to hit the break hard...we'd just crash. So, friends pick me up if I'm going out (like tonight). My mom has driven me to the Dr. (hello, I feel 12) and to the grocery store. And our church is close enough I can use my left foot. Mostly we've just been home a lot. I think the kids really enjoy just being able to play. I'm trying to decide if/when to return to the Dr. to see if there's something else I should be doing. At this point, since it was a pull and not a tear in the ligament...the Dr. said I could expect to be in pain for 4 weeks...so I still have another week.

Birthday Yarn

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday! I have an awesome husband who took all 3 of our little ones yarn shopping for mommy! The picked out 4 balls of Trendsetter Tonalita 2374. And they stacked them in a yarntainer. The yarn is gorgeous. And the container is great. Before these containers, I would find yarn strung all through the house. I did a quick look to find a pattern, and I think I'll make More stripes. Even though he asked, one ball is a different dye lot. That's ok though...I can exchange it for a different color, and get 2 additional balls to make this vest.

About a month ago, M visited a yarn store by his parents house with the boys. It was to be birthday yarn. But the boys couldn't hold it in. The boys each picked out a hank of clip. In orange and yellow (their favorite color and mine). Not sure what I'll do with that. 2 balls of Maggi's Linen. I don't want it to be the most expensive hand towel I've ever owned...any other patterns for small amounts of linen?

2 balls of Trendsetter Legacy. This is a really fun yarn, and in a terrific color, Plum Paradise.

And a ball of Plymouth Yarn Heaven.

M has great taste in yarn, but it's hard to find patterns for small amounts of yarn...even from the one skein book.

My parents bought me yarn for the Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell from IK summer 2007.

I'm using Cotton-Ease in Violet and I love it. I'm thrilled to make a tank for $16. I cast on Saturday night, and I'm about 4"or 5" in.

Schoolwise: My mom and I spent Saturday together. We went to the Curriculum Fair for JCS. Not what you'd normally call a Mother's Day treat, but M had all 3 kids, and Mom & I had 10 hours together. We drove down to Murietta (1hr drive)...loved the short seminars on Math and Science...toured the library and resource center...chose curriculum for the fall...stopped at the Lake Elsinore Outlet Mall...then stopped to pick up 4 skeins of Cotton-Ease for me. We came home with dinner from Marie Calendar's. I was exhausted. It must have been the thinking...all that school talk can make your head tired.

We did settle on Sing, Spell, Read & Write (K-1 Combo) for Language Arts, Zaner-Bloser Handwriting, Saxon Math with the Math Manipulative Kit (most of our math will be hands on), and Excel Math (just to have a few worksheets for documentation). For Science and Social Studies, we'll check out a few thematic units throughout the year. I'm still planning on working through 5 in a Row. And we'll use that to give our "school time" cohesion.

Healthwise: Mother's day was quiet. No church for us, 2 of 3 had bad coughs. We're clearing through that now though. I ran to the grocery store, then we all headed to pick up some lavender for the yard. M worked on the lighting in the back yard. I think that the best times can be had by just spending family time at home.

Blogwise: I wish I had pictures of all this yarn. I'm not used to that yet. At least I'm writing though. I may edit to add pictures...if I get the chance.

ETA: It's 2 weeks later, but that's how long it took me to photograph the yarn, download the pictures, save them as smaller jpg's, and upload them to blogger. I have so much respect for those who add images every day. I love looking at them...and I KNOW how hard they work to publish each post. With 5, 4, and 2...images may be few and far between.

It's been too long...

I can't even remember all that's happened in the last few weeks. And that alone convinces me of the importance of blogging regularly. In fact, I was looking at photos over the weekend, and I don't have that many vivid memories of the last two years without looking at the photos for a trigger. I'm sure that's just the way it is with 3 small ones.

Healthwise:
4 & 1 have coughs...they gave me a stuffy nose. I'm trying to figure out how I can still make it to MOPS in the morning when I can't let them go to their classes...or maybe they'll be well by then. I have to bring cinnamon rolls (I'm making them today...my mom's recipe) and gifts for my table, and share my testimony. Can I do all that with a 1 (almost 2) on my lap because she certainly won't sit still?

Kidwise:
4 has had a ton of dental work...even many adults won't have had to go through what he has. Well, last week he fell again. And nearly knocked out his front tooth. And get this, the dentist says we'll try to save it for as long as possible...because boys don't usually get their adult upper teeth until 7...that would be 3 years with a hole in his smile. At least M can have the hockey player he dreams of.

Schoolwise:
We've decided to go with a charter school. I have my packet and an appointment scheduled to complete registration. We've got a group of friends...that will make the greatest support system for all of us. We're planning on meeting once a week for science. Should be so much fun for the 4 kindergartners and the 2 pre-K. Meeting this week to discuss the particulars of that. And then curriculum fair at the charter school in May. Now, if there were just a way for my in-laws to not think we've lost our minds.

Knitwise:
I am knitting, even if not blogging about it. I'm working on a partial garter stitch miter blanket for 1's dolls. I'd like to be done for her birthday, but it doesn't look like that will happen. I knit up one (now I totally understand 2nd sock syndrome) twinkletoes, but the toddler size is too small for my wee one. I did notice quit a bit of "rowing out" on those...but I didn't know that's what it was called until I read about it here. I have so much to learn...what would I do without knit-bloggers...I learn so much from those who knit and write about it. I have 5 more balls of Rowan Calmer from the yarn shopping spree my dad took me on. I did want mommy/daughter matching twinkletoes, but I'm going to have to work on the "rowing out" before I work with the Calmer again. I do LOVE the yarn, but the ridges...not so much. We took a vacation to Napa, and I didn't want to pack a big project because I knew that this trip wasn't about that. So, I decided to make some puppers. I have 3 bunnies and a piggie...when will I get to putting eyes on them. Maybe I'm just not a finisher. I also have 2 purse ready to felt...but they have been sitting in my box for a while now. I have some super bulky yarn that I got 75% off...and I wanted to knit Ubernatural...but I'm short on the yardage. The Bulky Mini Cardigan is my 2nd choice. Maybe I'll swatch...and see what I can get out of my yarn. It's really pretty...teal, lime, blue mix in a boucle. I can't find it online anywhere. It's Mondial Fusion yarn. I love it...and I'd like it to be something other than a scarf I'll never wear.

OK...there's more, but if I sit here any longer my house may look like 3 tornadoes ran through. Seriously, are my kids just wilder than most...or do other houses look like this too? I'm learning that I have to put perfectionism behind me or I'll lose my sanity. And really, if I have to choose a clean house or happy kids...the kids win hands down. km

Wish I had photos...but at least I'm blogging.

It's Monday...and I'm trying to blog at least every Monday. But come to think of it now, I'm not sure if I wrote last week, or if that was 2 weeks ago. Even when I can't create a new post, I do read other blogs...instead of a newspaper...with my morning coffee. I read something interesting last week...why blog if no one is reading/leaving comments. I don't really write this to others...it's more a collection place for my thoughts...and if someone finds me and stops to say "HI!" I"m pleased to make a new friend, but I'll write weather else anyone is reading or not. I'm just happy to have a little corner in my life that doesn't have to be about my kids...oh, but wait...I do talk about them a lot. I don't know why I'm here...but I know that blogging is important to me...and my sanity. I hope that the processing of my thoughts helps me to realize how blessed I am to have fun children, time for a hobby...and time to talk about both.

Schoolwise:
My copy of Five in a Row came this weekend. Reading this makes me more excited about the coming school year.

Knitwise:
I lost my Spiral Rib Bag...I think the kids were using it as a sleeping bag for a doll. I'll have to find it so I can take pictures.

I finished the knitting of the Banana Hobo Bag, but I'm not sure when I'll felt it. The bags store easier when they're floppy, and I don't like having wet wool around for days. Maybe when the weather warms up again, or maybe if I need a gift. Or maybe if I have more things to felt with it...

I found some little trinkets to knit. Felted Fortune Cookies! How cute is that! I knit one with the Cascade 220 in camel that I had to buy to finish the Hobo Bag...perfect cookie color. I knit this up during just one American Idol. Now, to find time to felt...hmmm didn't I just have that problem. Check out Indigo Muse ...I was there again to get that link (in case someone is reading), and saw she's got a pattern for sale...and the proceeds go to Heifer. And I just had to laugh...I call my little 1 'chichi'!

Since knitting is my obsession, I'm always curious about projects that drive others to KNIT. UNTIL. FINISHED! So, when Cara sat on the couch for a whole weekend, I knew I had to check it out. But the thing is, stripes didn't do it for me. I'd printed out the Partial Garter Miter months ago...and finally decided to knit a few...ok, well maybe I'll knit a bunch. It is addicting. I like how Kay says "Yes, it's very special to me. I can't say why." I get that. For some reason the Partial Garter gets to me like plain stockinette couldn't...even if it was an opportunity to play with color. But, that's what I love about knitting. It's just a medium of expression. And each piece has it's own voice.

Time to go kiss little ones good night...km

Do I really need a title???

Blogwise:
I've been trying to figure out how to find order for my life. So, I've been reviewing my calender. I want to make my best effort to blog every Monday...at a minimum. If I can keep up with this, then I want to join the Unsocialized Homeschooler's Knitter's web ring. I do love to see how other moms with their kiddos home all day squeeze in knitting time.

Kidwise:
During the last week, I caught 1

• eating out of the cream cheese tub.
• eating out of the peanut butter jar
• eating out of the jelly bean jar
• and painting her face in lipgloss

Lest you think I'm ignoring my kids, I have to explain. The cream cheese was on the counter. I had just finished prepping english muffins for the boys and was walking to the table. She ran to the other room and grabbed a stool, carried it to the kitchen and shoved her fist in the cream cheese before I could turn around. The peanut butter...similar story...different day. The jelly beans...they're in a mason jar with a screwed on lid...1 gets one bean when she pees in the kid toilet. I just finished 1's pig-tails, and was squirting moose on 4's hair when I heard the jingling of jelly beans. I ran to the kitchen, and 1 had again found a stool, and gotten the jar off the counter, sat on the rug inside the entry, and helped herself to a fist full of jelly beans. And the lipgloss, it was in a zippered pouch, inside my purse, in my bedroom...on my bed. Sheesh! She's QUICK! She's the reason I don't have much time to blog. And the blog...something I need for my sanity.

Healthwise:

• No further news on 4's hip. Although he still complains some...we're just trying to figure out what steps to take next.
• 5, 4, & 1 all have coughs! 5 gave us a scare on Thursday night with a croup cough. We pulled through with the humidifier and didn't need the tent in the ER this time.

And Knitwise: (this is the most important right)

M is amazing. He took the boys to buy mama yarn. The brought me 2 colors of Clip, Plymouth Yarn's Heaven, 2 balls of Maggi's Linen, and 2 balls of Trendsetter's Legacy. Fun stuff!

I've knit up a spiral rib bag from Leigh Radford's One Skein book in some green stash yarn. It's Gedifra Aragona-green bought on sale at the LYS. I've knit a scarf in Paton's Pooch Teal Leaves...$4. I do love a good yarn, but my budget doesn't always allow that...how can you go wrong with a $4 scarf. And, I may be knitting for a boutique in the fall. I've cast-on for another purse, in Lion Brand Landscapes Spring Dessert that I got for $2 a ball! Pursenalities again, the banana hobo bag. So this purse will only cost $10 or $12 for the MC. I'm not sure if I want the stripe or not...we'll see when I get there, and I'll need the thin velour trim and a button. I also started a scarf with leftover mohair from the Karabella shawl and some Lion Brand Incredible in Copper Penny. It's similar to the Bella Knitting seventh heaven scarf, but I'm just doing my own thing...because it's leftover yarn...and $2 ribbon yarn. I'd love to buy the kit, but I think I'll save my $$$ for the Cropped Cardigan: Bolero in Soft Waikki painted Iris. That's on my wish list...if anyone is looking. I need the 36"...that's $90.10! See why I stick with the $2 sale yarn from Michael's.

Well, gotta go knit before nap time is over. km