Tullius, Claudia and Marcus

So here's a question for you. Is it unique for children to play what they are learning in school?

Today all their school friends are at after school activities and so they have been left to their own means. They are actually all four playing together. Nicely!!

I am hearing bits and catching glimpses.

What I know is that they are all down in the basement wearing make shift tunics/togas, wearing their Bullas that they made out of Clay and sporting names like Tullius, Claudia, and Marcus. I think I even heard a little Latin being thrown around.

No, I am not teaching them Latin. (but some of the books they are reading are making reference to Latin words)

Okay, so do other kids do this? I know that when their friends come over they play along and will play the games my kids make up, but the question is will the average school kid play, say, Declaration of Independence when they get home from school?

Just wondering.

Kristen

Pictures from Springfield

We have been trying to visit the state capitol for months but couldn't make it happen. We saw an opportunity for it this week and took it! We got up early and arrived in Springfield by 9:30 Friday morning. We hit Lincoln's house first. Fascinating!





Then we walked down to the old state capitol and met the Lincoln's along the way.











I found out that I am allergic to the old state capitol. Before Mike took this picture I had sneezed close to a billion times.






We went to Sonic for lunch which was a point of contention for poor Kylee. Since she was the one who did the Springfield research she really wanted to have a famous Horse shoe sandwich. Apparently you can only get them in Springfield, Il. But come on we haven't had Sonic in over a year!!!!

Then after lunch we headed to Oak Ridge Cemetery and saw the tomb of Lincoln. I have to say it was pretty awesome.





Here are the kids standing on the stairs to the tomb.








And finally we went to the Lincoln Museum. I have to say of all the museums we have been to this was the best! This picture was taken right after the kids were yelled at for touching the figures!

OOPS!!

They really should have a sign.

Kristen

Guindiana Jones

Wow did we ever just have a scare!

You know, I have to admit that when Seth wanted to purchase a guinea pig for his birthday I really thought that the joy of pet ownership wouldn't last much past a couple of weeks.

But surprisingly enough, I was wrong.

Seth really, really loves this little guy and he has turned out to be a pretty cool little pet. I don't know if I would feel the same way about him if he was stationed anywhere other than the basement, but with his "house" down there I like him.

I know this is probably just my imagination but he even seems to be trained a bit, and loves Seth back as much as Seth loves him. He comes to him when he calls and would much rather sit on his lap than run around. Kind a weird.

Well, since it has been nice the kids have been taking Harley outside for play time. He doesn't seem interested in running around, just chewing grass. Up until today.

The kids were outside working on school work at the table, on the ground, in the grass, and let Harley out to get some fresh air. I called them in to finish their maps of Alexander the Great's conquests and I heard Seth ask Josh to keep an eye on Harley. I wasn't sure this was a great idea, but like I said Harley hasn't shown a huge desire to run away so I thought he would be fine.

We were working on our maps when I heard the screen door open and Jasmine run out. I jumped up and called Jasmine back inside and the next thing I hear is, "Where's Harley?"

Oh no.

I ran outside and Harley is no where to be found. Seth is crying and accusing Josh. Josh is...upset.

I looked around, then went and looked over the fence and there was Harley looking up at me.

Seth ran out the gate and Harley jumped into his arms. Seth immediately informed Josh that he was not to be trusted to watch his cherished pig. Josh was okay with that.

Crisis averted.

Kristen

Math Man

Sometimes these kids are too smart for their own good.

Seth and I were working on his math lesson today. With Saxon they have a group time and then they get to do the work on their own and see if they understand it. And everyday there is a number pattern and a word problem to work out in group time. This is how our group time went today.

Me- "Okay Seth here is your word problem, Jane's dog chewed the edges of her bedroom rug. The rug is five feet long and three feet wide. Jane decided to sew tape along the edges. How much tape will she need to buy? Draw a picture."

Seth- Okay so (he grabs the dry erase marker and begins drawing) lets see she has a rug.... five feet is way too big to draw up here.

Me- yeah, you can just draw a sketch.

Seth- Okay. ( drawing sketch, labeling sides) hmm, lets see take out this corner, this is going to be hard.

Me- What? What is hard you drew the picture and labeled it, what do you do next?

Seth- Well, the dog chewed off the corner, how much did he chew off? I don't know how long the side is now.

Me- Oh, yeah well the dog didn't really chew off the whole corner just nibbled it a little. Okay?

Seth- Okay, So she wants to tape the corner the dog chewed. But I still don't know how big the corner is that she wants to tape.

Me- (Oh my!) Okay look she is going to go ahead and just tape around the whole rug so that it all looks the same.

Seth- Oh that's easy, 16ft, I just add 10 plus 6.

Me- Yes.

Is this a man thing? Or possibly it's because he is a lefty and he is right brained?

Kristen

Hair Pictures as Promised

Okay, it has taken me awhile to get these on here but I finally did it!!

Here is Faith with her new hair cut from the front.









From the back.



Kristen

Product Plug

I have been meaning to give this product a plug for a while.

A few months back I saw this at the store and although it was a little pricey it promised that I wouldn't have to scrub the toilet for three months!!!

Wow!! Three months of no toilet scrubbing.... Sounds too good to be true. So I set out to prove it wrong.

But, I didn't prove it wrong!!! It really works! And once you buy the first apparatus the refills are reasonably priced.

My only complaint is that it does have a chemically smell to it.

To be honest I don't really know what is in it and I am sure it isn't any kind of all natural, healthy, good-for-the-environment cleaner but it does keep the toilet clean without me scrubbing it.

And just as a side note I am not sure I will ever switch to all natural, good-for-the-environment cleaners.

I kind of like the smell of bleach.

Sorry

Kristen

Accompanied Minors

For the last couple of summers the girls have gone to visit my mom and dad and their aunt and uncle in AZ. They get to see their cousins, and play with friends that they used to know when they were little, and get spoiled by Nana and papa.

And this year, Papa has already got the tickets but with one change. The boys are going also!!

All four kids are going to AZ for two weeks.

The kids keep asking me what I am going to do for two weeks without them.

I told them I was probably going to have a great time for the first....three hours....then I was going to miss them terribly and wish they were home!

Seriously, I am going to read a ton of books and lay by the pool. It better be warm!

Maybe I will go to work with Mike and be his personal assistant. I am sure he would love that!

Another weird change is that Faith will be 12 this year so she is no longer an unaccompanied minor. Therefor none of our kids will be unaccompanied because Faith will be with them. I really wonder though, who decided that a 12 year old is old enough to be on their own to fly across the country. Seems like an odd age to pick.

In reality nothing really changes. We still get to walk them to the gate, but Faith is responsible for them on the plane and for getting them off the plane. She will do fine.

Kristen

WICKED

Wow!!!

What an incredible evening!!!

I haven't been to the theater since I saw The Phantom in Phoenix, when I was pregnant with Seth.

And I love live theater! I was a humanities major you know.

But last night was awesome. I loved everything about it.

Of course, dressing up was so fun!! I got to wear my cute flippy dress I bought for our cruise two years ago that I have only worn once. And I made Mike wear slacks and a button down shirt. I told him no dress jeans!!! And yes over half the men there were wearing jeans.

The Ford theater on its own is something to see. It is breathtaking. I could really spend quite a bit of time just looking at the building. It was opened originally in 1926, as a movie palace. It operated as such until business declined and it was finally closed in 1981. But fortunately, for all of us, it was renovated and reopened in 1998 as the Ford Theater for the Performing Arts. Fascinating building.

As for Wicked I have only two regrets. One that I didn't read the book first. I have heard that the book is even better than the play.

I can't imagine.

And two, that I didn't take Faith with me. She would have loved it!!! We may have to go for her birthday.

The kids did great. Our fabulous babysitter had everyone watch American Idol, read for half and hour and in bed and lights out by 8:30. Great job Faith!!! This was her longest stint, but our neighbor was on call and knew that she was watching the others while we were away. I was a little on the fence about her doing it but she wanted to do it and she did a fantastic job. And it was her birthday present to me so it was free!!!!!

So if you end up in Chicago see Wicked, you won't be sorry.

Kristen

Feel Like a New Woman

Okay I am back and feeling much better!!

Last week was rough.

I tried to bring it around by my birthday on Thursday because the kids and Mike really wanted to have a fun celebration, but food and I were just not jiving still.

But all is good now.

Since my sweet man took the day off, I know that is amazing, I took Joshi and Faith on a double date for their reading goals today and while we were out I swung by the hair place so Faith could donate her hair to locks of love.

It turned out soooo cute!!! But she does look older, which I don't love.

After she cut the ten pounds of hair off the lady layered it a bit around her face, put a couple layers in the back and it turned out adorable. I'll have to get pics.

Mike got me Wicked tickets for my b-day and tomorrow is the day!!!!!!! I will write all about that tomorrow!

There is some more exciting news coming but haven't made any final plans yet so I will let you all know when it is in the works!

Kristen

Under the Weather

So I have been a little under the weather the last couple of days. But a couple of great things came out of it.

First and most importantly my kids rock!! I have to brag here but I am not exaggerating. They did so great.

We are pretty consistent as far as their schooling goes. I use the same planning sheet for them every week and I work on it a good part of every Saturday. I plan out all their stuff for the week and print out any worksheets they may need and leave them in a pile with their books they need to read for the week.

It is pretty self guided. That has always been my goal. From the start of this I have always wanted to get to the point where the kids were in charge of their schooling. I am the director and they are the managers. And this week I think they really proved themselves.

For the last two days as I have laid on the couch in a semi attentive state, they have gotten their work out and done it in a reasonable time, correctly. Kylee and Seth even started their extra project, a model Greek temple, with little help from me. Faith got all her work done and even went and babysat for three hours for our neighbor down the street. And in the midst of it all Kylee made home made rolls for dinner last night and helped to make a big pot of home made chicken soup! (I chopped the veg. and chicken, I am not that brave yet) And the house isn't trashed!

I am pretty proud of them.

Another less exciting, but still awesome, fact is that I was able to finish two books over the last two days. Right before I got sick I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See which all I can say about it is READ IT! I loved it. It isn't terribly long which was nice because I have been reading all of these really long books lately and I needed a quick read.

Anyways, the first book I finished this week was Save Myself From Me by Brian "Head" Welch. It is an amazing story. He was the lead guitarist for Korn and has a dramatic conversion story. The last few chapters get a little weird for me but I think he is just a very intense person in everything he does and that includes what he does for God.

The second book I read was Sex God by Rob Bell. I have been wanting to read this for a while because I love Rob Bell and his writing style. Velvet Elvis rocked my world. If you haven't read it, read it. I think I am still absorbing Sex God. I don't think I could give a fair review of it. So read it! Especially if you are raising kids, in a marriage, in a relationship, or single. (does that cover everyone?)

Okay, the kids did a great job but I have some extra disinfecting to do today!

Kristen