Our 8 Year Old Wonder

Our precious firstborn turned 8 in February.  We haven't done a traditional birthday party in a few years.  When given the choice between one or a family adventure, he chose the adventure.  That may likely change in years to come, but for now we enjoy our own little traditions.
This year we decided to go to Pigeon Forge and visit the Titanic Museum (with a huge bonus of 2 nights at a water park resort thanks to generous neighbors!).  His birthday was on a Saturday and we didn't go until Monday. So, we got to celebrate his special day at home first.  Jeff had an early morning Deacon's meeting so we did breakfast, but waited on presents.

Cinnamon rolls are a birthday treat!

When daddy got home, we did a scavenger hunt for his 2 gifts.  One was from Nana and Papa Du (LEGO set) and the other was a remote control car from us (he's been wanting it soooo much!).

The pictures are so blurry because he was moving fast!  Look at that face!

We went out for lunch and had a laid back afternoon.  Some good friends got married that day, so we went to their wedding.  Sean wanted to know why they were getting married on his birthday. :)  I stayed in the nursery with the boys while Jeff did the music (not taking any chances with them at a wedding!).  We went to the reception, but my active children could only last so long, so we bid farewell and headed to a pizza place for a last minute birthday treat.

Sean, 

You always amaze me with your capacity to love a subject and immerse yourself in it.  You have loved John Deere, weather/tornadoes and snakes- to name a few.  This year was all about the crocodiles, the Titanic, dinosaurs and now, monster trucks.  You are such a good, protective big brother.  When you are not zoned out (what goes through your mind sometimes??) :) you are our best little helper.  You still love to cuddle and have your back and head scratched.  Playing outside with your friends is one of your favorite things to do.  You are becoming such a good reader... I love your little notes.  You like to eat out at Kobe (fried rice with shrimp sauce and California rolls) and Sazon (cheese dip & salsa and rice).   You talk about the One True God and how you want to follow Him all of your days.  We pray for you to know God and are inspired by your child-like faith! You are still my dream come true and I thank God for the gift of you.  We love you, Pooh Bear.

Officially a "bag" lady :)

I am hosting a Thirty One catalog party for my sweet M-I-L.  So I thought it would be fun to snap some pictures of the different bags I have.

Probably one of my most favorite ways of using the bags is to organize my purse.  I swap between the diaper bag and my Metro Retro (I love this bag and forgot a picture!!) all the time.  Just tossing the little bags into whatever purse/tote I need to use is so easy.

My second favorite tote is the Keep-It Caddy (I actually have the All-inOne tote, but the newer version has extra pen pockets).  I have used it to hold my Bible and devotional/ reading material, pens & pencils and notebooks.  Right now I have my planner and mobile office tucked in.

This Hang Up Home Organizer holds scrapbooking stuff because I WILL get Luke's 1st year baby book done!

This cosmetic bag is not available anymore, but it shows how you can use the bags for other creative purposes.  And, of course, other variations of how I've stored office stuff.  My desk is in the basement so I need something to keep things handy and organized upstairs.

I have another whole post on Homeschool organization using some other bags HERE.

I have several other larger bags that I use for storage- winter & summer gear, wrapping paper... one is even holding a sleeping bag.  

I know I am super spoiled with all these goodies.  I pretty much cleaned out any other bags I had so I could make sure to put the Thirty One bags (mostly gifts!) to good use.  

Here is the catalog party link.  Check out the monthly special!

 We'll close it out on March 10.

Thanks!

Yay for snow!

We finally got some snow!  I didn't even know we were supposed to be expecting it (not that I guess I would have believed it!)  It started the day before and we woke up to this!

Jeff was out of town the day it started so the boys just went out and played for a while.  We waited for Daddy to be home the next day to get everyone bundled and go outside.

I took a ridiculous amount of pictures of Eli.  This was his first official time playing in the snow!

Jeff and me with our little guys.

Sean and Luke were mostly cooperative with me taking pictures.  Sean told me to stop taking pictures and play... so I tackled him.

Can't forget the snow dog.  He was so funny.  We have not seen him run around so fast in a long time!

 We had hot chocolate and Eli took a marathon morning nap (which, of course, means he didn't take an afternoon nap!).

Soggy mittens drying by the fire.

That afternoon Jeff kept an eye on the boys while I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned!  I took pictures and I'm sure I will do a post on it. :)

No Snow and Random Stuff

We had a big snow storm... go all around us.  The boys were looking forward to trying out their new sleds, but we're still holding out hope for at least one good snow this winter (which will be just fine with me).  Nothing a warm fire and hot chocolate can't fix, though. 

I caught this little guy being super cute.

Here is he having a blast with his train.  Every time he put a piece on he would clap for himself.

Sean working- we've been doing pretty well keeping up.  

Lunch time.  

After the rain finally cleared out we have had several beautiful {{{cold!}}} days.  The boys have loved playing outside and riding their bikes.

Luke and his stylish ways. :)

I am thankful for warm fires, cuddly boys, a beautiful view, good books, God's Word and so many other things that God uses to reveal his love for us.

Egypt and Crafty Fail

We are picking back up in Story of the World and (still) in Egypt.  I set up our history books and library books as a little display (I channeled my inner librarian).  We read our chapter and looked at all the books (hieroglyphics and writing).  We attempted make a cartouche with some air-dry clay.  Sean was pretty into it and he worked hard translating his name into the Egyptian symbols.  Luke wanted to do it, too.

The fail comes from Eli taking a bite of Luke's drying masterpiece (and subsequently eating the chunk) and then Sean breaking his in half while checking to see if it was dry.  It was not.  

Here's the little mischief-maker.  I am constantly finding him at the table.  Here he is contributing to Sean's language arts book.

Maybe he'll be an early reader.

Rainy Tuesday

While Sean worked in his books, Luke wanted to paint.  He matched up the colors, brushes and cups.  Sean joined him when he finished his work.

I was happy they actually painted instead of just mixing all the colors together.

Luke's are the top 2 and Sean's is at the bottom.

Sean likes to have little breaks between work so we set the timer for 10 minutes and he gets back to whatever he was playing with.  Sometimes it goes a little more than 10 minutes, but the breaks seem to help motivate him

Rainy day view from our front porch.  Luke says we are in a boat and can't go outside because there are water snakes.  

Sean found a beetle inside and decided to give him a home and some spinach leaves.  

We started the Titanic Science and did some experiments.  The first was sinkers and floaters.  We all picked 6 things from around the house to test.  Then we did one on buoyancy.  It did not work as indicated, but was still fun to play with.

There is talk of snow!  The boys are excited to see if we'll get any.  I need to make sure I have hot chocolate supplies on hand (to celebrate or as a consolation!).

New semester

I did a little shifting in our schedule for the new semester.  Our days will look like this:

Monday-Thursday: Explode the Code, Miquon and LA

Tuesday- add Science/Nature

Wednesday- add History

Thursday- Hands-on projects

Friday- catch up

I got several Thirty One bags for Christmas (it's nice having a mother and mother-in-law who sell it!).  I found many uses on the homeschool front!

I keep activities for Luke and Sean's daily workbooks and supplies in these bags.

This tote holds both bags plus my extras (math guide, clipboard and pens)

I printed a blank monthly calendar and just wrote in the plan for each day.

I put most of our crafty stuff in this bag for easy access.  It will be good for last-minute projects.

These are the history and science materials we use a few days a week.

One happy bag family!

Here's where I keep the craft and history/science bag when not in use.

 Sean started his next ETC workbook.

Luke worked in a coloring book.

 And stacked his crayons.

 We had a limited t.v. day.  I love when I find them with books.

We pulled out a game Sean got as Christmas gift- Traffic Jam.

He loves it!

So far is has been really warm and then rainy.  I am enjoying being homebodies.  Cold weather is moving in so maybe we'll get a chance to use the new sleds in the near future!