We Started Kindergarten

We started Kindergarten this week. I say "we", because we made the decision to Home school, and it definitely takes all of us to pull it off. I was home schooled for all 12 grades and wanted the blessing of being the one to teach my daughter to read. Maybe a bit selfish, but experiencing the joys and frustrations of that first year is something that I wanted to do right along side of her, and missing it wasn't something I could live with.

 My Mom is letting me use her Phonics curriculum, which we are loving so far, and I'm using Bob Jones for Math. I don't have a specific curriculum for History, Science or Bible since I didn't want to be tied to books for that part of it. Those subjects will involve trips to the library and lots of hands on, fun projects. Next week we start with the days of creation which will get us History, Bible and Science in one fell swoop. We'll take our time to do one day per week, so we can work on art projects and study the different aspects of each day. I'm really excited about this part of school this year!

 Anyway.

 The night before Kindergarten started, it really hit me. A new chapter in our lives was beginning the very next morning, and I of course felt very sentimental about it, thinking of when we brought her home from the hospital and I cried thinking of sending her to Kindergarten.

 So, yeah. I had the baby blues just a little. 

 "Tomorrow you start school for the next 13 years!" I told Brooklynne, and Nate and I laughed because it's kind of crazy to think about. We lingered at bed time a little longer, sensing the change that was going to take place soon.

 She woke up so excited, as does any 5 year old on the first day of school. I felt excited, but a little nervous, because at the same time she became a Kindergartner, I was becoming a teacher and that brings a lot of responsibility.
 She dressed herself, cleaned her room and brushed her teeth and completed a few more simple chores, a simple routine we'll be following every day.

(Insert--wouldn't it have been disappointing  if I took less than 7,000 pictures on her first day? I didn't disappoint, friends.)

 We started school with the Pledge of Allegiance ( I totally googled a flag image) and the days of the week song. Her work the first day was very simple--tracing lines and shapes and coloring.

 Joe felt very left out and wanted to be very close to either me or Brooke. He always wanted me to "help him" with his book, so I tried to make him feel included as much as I could.

Buddy needed to be very close at all times as well.

 After our whole 40 minutes of school was completed :), we pulled out lunch and had our lunch break. I saw an idea once from a Home School Mom that packs her kids lunches. It eliminates lunch mess during the day and I loved the idea, so that's what we're going to try to do. We're on day 4 at this point and I love it. I pack my own lunch the night before, too. There is no messy kitchen in the middle of the day and because of this, I've been able to get a lot more done around the house during the day than I thought I would! I've gotten a lot of fun ideas online about kids lunches, so I'll do a post of those later on.

After lunch, we went to the park for a while, until it was too hot and everyone was grouchy and sweaty. Came home for naps/quiet time/cleaning/dinner prep. The day went way better than I ever thought!

In the meantime, this little man (or not so little man) is about to turn 6 months and charming us more and more each day. He is happy, content and quiet. He never demands attention, but one look at his smiley little face and I can't resist picking him up for hugs and kisses.

At this point he's not a thumb-sucker (he loves his paci) but one day I found him like this. Too cute for words! 

Well, it's Friday and we made it through the first week. We celebrated today with a trip to the library ("Mommy are there trains here? Mommy, are we gonna play?" I need to take my kids to the library more often, ehem.) and a trip to the doughnut shop for $1.58 worth of celebratory doughnuts. 5 days down, 175 to go!

 Happy weekend!

A Marshmallow World

"Stop and get some twigs off a tree," I texted Nate on his way home. "We can roast marshmallows!" We have to appreciate the cold days around here because they are few and far between. Starting a fire and enjoying it in our decorated living room is just one of the ways we love doing that--so roasting marshmallows would just make it better. :)

While the fire rose to a good marshmallow-roasting-temperature, we broke out some locally made kettle corn that Nate brought home from a church event and snacked on it. Yummy!

Little popcorn face

I love this picture. She adores her daddy more than anyone else in the world!

Brooklynne was the first one to get to roast her marshmallow. As you can see by the look on her face, she was delighted!

Roasting marshmallows is serious business

Our poor, poor, poor doggie got shaved. And by shaved I do mean shaved. His face looks cute but his body is tiny and rat-like, and I mean that in the nicest rat-like way possible. We still love him though...enough to buy him a Christmas sweater so he won't freeze!

I think this may have been the first time my kids have ever tasted roasted marshmallows. The loved them--what kid doesn't?!

Buddy get's a lot of people food around here. :)

Mommy gets a lot of people food too--I could just eat my babies all day, one tiny nibble at a time. They make my life! This night was so special, because in the very busy Christmas season, I love making time to make memories with the most important people in my life. Parties and Christmas concerts and shopping are great--but this is what really makes the holidays for me.

And the icing on the cake? A little Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, belting out the classic's I grew to love at a very young age. 

In all of your business this season, don't forget to take time to make lasting memories with the ones you love the most. This was something as simple as a $1.00 bag of marshmallows but it was one of the best things I'll do in the month of December!

Christmas Decorating

This year we had to wait a few days longer than we like to decorate because of travelling, but as soon as we got home I pulled out the totes, boxes and bags and started the long process. I forget how much work it is, but it's always so rewarding and enjoyable in the end!

I got so many good ideas off pinterest this year! Mason jar, greenery, cranberries and floating candle. Beautiful.

 I love his little face here, putting the first ornament on the tree and so excited!

Next year there will be another little boy helping us decorate the tree, already 9 months old! :)

The kids had a blast decorating the tree this year--it was so much fun seeing their faces while we were putting everything up!

There is something so much more special about the holidays when you have a mantle to decorate. I love how mine turned out this year! (Once again, thanks to pinterest for the inspiration!)

Putting the star on the top

After our decorating, we made peanut butter pretzel bites. Brooklynne is very meticulous when it comes to just about anything, so when we cook and bake together, she is the perfect little partner!

She rolled perfect little peanut butter balls...

...and flattened them between pretzels perfectly. Nate and I were laughing at how serious and determined she was--it was so cute :)

Well, the picture is a good memory of our night...sadly, I was sporting the "I got 4 hours of sleep last night on a 16 hour road trip" look. :p

These babies are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy--and they were super easy to make! A nice addition to my Christmas baking this year!

A few picture of the kiddos before bed...what could be better than kids, jammies and Christmas?

OK, kids, jammies, Christmas...and a cute little doggie :)