Okay, time for the Matthew post. I just now published this as the first sentence only...hopefully no one is trying to read it....
Matthew is an active five-year-old, for sure! He has always been my high-energy child and he hasn't slowed down yet. No, I take that back. He does slow down enough to play his favorite Wii games and would play for hours if we let him. He's a master at Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Party 8. I haven't really gotten him onto the computer much, but we're going to work on that soon. Our whole family loves playing the Wii (which the boys are currently doing) so it's no surprise that Matthew is an much an addict as Rob and I!
We've started letting he and Ben go outside by themselves. That's finally going well. I hadn't really allowed it sooner, partly because our yard is a mosquito plantation in summertime and partly b/c I was nervous about what they would DO if let out alone. But it's going well and I'm glad. It's good to say, "Go outside!" when they get too rambunctious. And my kids are as impervious to the cold and Rob and I so I'm sure they will go out until the temps dip into the teens. Maybe they'd keep their jackets on at that point....
Kindergarten is going well. We are contintuing to use Sonlight's Core 4/5, which is a preschool program we started back in the early spring. We will finish it up around January. I'm not going to order the whole of Core K, but just a few books and then get all of the readers and such from the library. We're supplementing the core with the Explode the Code series for phonics and Minquon Math. I'm not sure I really like the math program, but he is learning and I like to finish it before I pass judgement. We believe in a more unschooling approach to learning, so he may be learning more math from the games we play and, oddly enough, video games than the math program. I also purchased the entire Think it Through set from Discovery Toys and that is supplementing the math program very nicely. He's reading well and loves to take books to bed with him. I enrolled him in Pizza Hut's Book It program and he has already earned his November certificate! I decided to have him read 10 easy readers per month (the level 3's) but that seems to be too easy. We tried a short chapter book but he was overwhelmed by it, so we'll stick with the easier books. I know he reads at least twice that amount of books each month, so I think I'll up the goal in December. And try again with the "regular" books.
We decided not to do a handwriting program with him. He's very determined to write his letters properly, so I don't see the need for a program to teach him. We also try to fit in crafts where we can, the most recent one being egg carton caterpillars. Reminds me...they are not finsihed yet! We are also working on skills that kindergarteners need to know, like shoe tying, knowing address and phone number, and some other things. He's working hard to tie those shoes but hasn't quite gotten it yet. Anything that doesn't come easily for Matthew frustrates him. So we're also teaching patience :)
Matthew loves attending Tiny Trackers each week. They have too many kids for one room now, so the kindergarteners are taken to a different room for part of the night. He loves going and memorizes his verses easily. Ben wasn't there last week b/c of his cold/croup, so we'll see how he handles it next week when Matthew starts in a different room.
Matthew and Ben have been great friends for awhile, but he and Anna are bonding great as well. They love to make each other laugh. She knows just what to do to get him going! He's a great helper around the house and is usually eager to help out. He completes his chores quickly and thoroughly, something I NEVER thought he'd do!
There is one major problem with Matthew, however. He keeps growing! I told him to stop, even threatened punsihment, but he tells me that he can't help it. He said he's supposed to get bigger b/c that's the way God made him. And God made him a pretty neat kid.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Making Mommy Laugh
Today, Ben was "playing" the piano and he pulled out one of my Christmas books. He then started to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", stopped halfway through it and said, "Mom, you can't marry Christmas!"
I was reciting a few poems for Matthew and started quoting Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. I got to "silverbells and cockleshells" when he stopped me and said, "Taco shells?" and laughed himself silly.
Anna had a few random moments of peek-a-boo. For instance, she was sitting at the table quietly munching on her cereal when she ducked her head under the table, then popped up, looking at Ben, and said, "Peekie boo!"
I do not, however, find their new wake-up times very funny. After almost two weeks of the new time change, Anna has gone back to her regular wake-up time of 7am. The boys, however, like to get up with Rob at 5am. If it's just Matthew, he will watch a movie while the rest of us sleep after Rob leaves for work. If it's just Ben, I can convince him to go back to sleep in my bed. But when both of them are up, I have to get up b/c there's no telling what evil thoughts lurk in their heads. Or loud thoughts. At least they go to sleep right away when they are put to bed at night. We do devos at 8pm and Anna and Ben fall right to sleep. Matthew will read in his bed then go to sleep. And they do share a room.
You know, back in the early days of Matthew's infancy, I would read in child care books about sleep requirements. Little did I know that my eldest would be at the minimum! There are some nights he gets about eight hours. Ben is usually at ten and Anna at ten with a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. And I'm always amazed when I hear from other parents how long their children sleep. Amazed and envious. I love them at their ages now, but the sleepy part of me longs for the teen years when they sleep for large amounts of time. Who knows, maybe Matthew will go about nine hours by then! :)
I was reciting a few poems for Matthew and started quoting Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. I got to "silverbells and cockleshells" when he stopped me and said, "Taco shells?" and laughed himself silly.
Anna had a few random moments of peek-a-boo. For instance, she was sitting at the table quietly munching on her cereal when she ducked her head under the table, then popped up, looking at Ben, and said, "Peekie boo!"
I do not, however, find their new wake-up times very funny. After almost two weeks of the new time change, Anna has gone back to her regular wake-up time of 7am. The boys, however, like to get up with Rob at 5am. If it's just Matthew, he will watch a movie while the rest of us sleep after Rob leaves for work. If it's just Ben, I can convince him to go back to sleep in my bed. But when both of them are up, I have to get up b/c there's no telling what evil thoughts lurk in their heads. Or loud thoughts. At least they go to sleep right away when they are put to bed at night. We do devos at 8pm and Anna and Ben fall right to sleep. Matthew will read in his bed then go to sleep. And they do share a room.
You know, back in the early days of Matthew's infancy, I would read in child care books about sleep requirements. Little did I know that my eldest would be at the minimum! There are some nights he gets about eight hours. Ben is usually at ten and Anna at ten with a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. And I'm always amazed when I hear from other parents how long their children sleep. Amazed and envious. I love them at their ages now, but the sleepy part of me longs for the teen years when they sleep for large amounts of time. Who knows, maybe Matthew will go about nine hours by then! :)
Monday, November 9, 2009
My silly kiddos
This past Saturday, we decided to let the boys play outside by themselves. I know, I know, many children their ages are already doing that but I've been hesitant to allow it for reasons that I'm too tired to type out. It was a nice Indian Summer day so we kicked them outside. Over and over and over again. Those little goofballs would not stay outside without us. Finally, Rob set a timer and made them stay out! They kept complaining they were bored, they needed their shoes tied, they wanted to say "I love you", and on the list goes. We made them go out yesterday and FINALLY today they begged to go outside. They still keep coming back in, but at least they are staying outside longer. They have had their lesson on talking to strangers and know their boundaries. Anna enjoyed watching them from the window. She pulled an empty tub up to the end table and had a snack while watching their antics.
Speaking of Anna, she's been saying some silly things recently. If you ask her , "Where's Anna?" she'll say "Peek-a-boo!" When I ask her "Are you pretty?" she'll respond, "I Anna!" Whenever the timer for the oven goes off she yells out, "Hot pizza!"
We started something new today. Ben's SS teacher spoke in the student wives fellowship awhile back and gave out loads of preschoolish stuff for our use. I am taking an idea from it to make an octopus head for each child. The legs of the octopus each represent something they need to learn and when they have accomplished a skill they get to add that leg to their octopus. The boys have similar things to do, like hold a pencil properly, recite their phone number and address, and tie their shoes. Matthew pretty much does some of these just fine but Ben is ahead of him in learning to tie shoes. Matthew has to learn to properly write his letters while Ben needs to recognize them. I told the boys that it might take them a long time to learn some of the skills but that's okay. When they have all the legs on they will get a special prize. Anna watched me cut out the parts and wanted one too, so hers is all potty related.
I probably should do a post on Matthew and how he's doing in kindergarten, which is quite well. We're really enjoying this school year together.
Speaking of Anna, she's been saying some silly things recently. If you ask her , "Where's Anna?" she'll say "Peek-a-boo!" When I ask her "Are you pretty?" she'll respond, "I Anna!" Whenever the timer for the oven goes off she yells out, "Hot pizza!"
We started something new today. Ben's SS teacher spoke in the student wives fellowship awhile back and gave out loads of preschoolish stuff for our use. I am taking an idea from it to make an octopus head for each child. The legs of the octopus each represent something they need to learn and when they have accomplished a skill they get to add that leg to their octopus. The boys have similar things to do, like hold a pencil properly, recite their phone number and address, and tie their shoes. Matthew pretty much does some of these just fine but Ben is ahead of him in learning to tie shoes. Matthew has to learn to properly write his letters while Ben needs to recognize them. I told the boys that it might take them a long time to learn some of the skills but that's okay. When they have all the legs on they will get a special prize. Anna watched me cut out the parts and wanted one too, so hers is all potty related.
I probably should do a post on Matthew and how he's doing in kindergarten, which is quite well. We're really enjoying this school year together.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Another week
On Tuesday of this week, Rob came home and said, "Well, I still have a job!" The C.S. did more cuts this week, which was a complete surprise b/c they said they wouldn't do anymore after the last cut. However, it was either that or shut down for two months and hope to reopen next year. We don't really know how Rob, who has worked there for three years, made it through and people who have been there for 20 years were laid off, but we're praising the Lord that he still has a job. He even got more hours than usual this week. He hasn't worked on a Friday in a long time but worked until 10 yesterday (was supposed to be until one!). We had planned to go to the Milwaukee Public Museum to see dinosaurs (our current science topic) but we'll just postpone the trip. I took the kids to the library story hour instead. Not as exciting as dinosaurs, but I'm not complaining. We rather like living in a house rather than a box, so it's okay that Rob had to work instead.
We had two blessings this week. A close family member is expecting a baby in July and some friends of ours here were shocked to find out they are expecting as well. Babies are such a blessing!
And for the quote of the week: The boys were in the kitchen chatting with me as I washed the dishes when Anna came running in. She stopped at the door and said, "Ewww! Stinky boys!" Then she ran away laughing her head off. The boys and I were rather surprised, yet tickled, at her little outburst.
Anna is now the proud owner of a potty seat. Yep, we're starting to train her. We'll see how fast she catches on. I'm usually sad about each milestone we reach with her since she's our last (unless God exhibits His sense of humor in my direction) but this milestone I'll rejoice about! A world with no diaper changes....sign me up!
We had two blessings this week. A close family member is expecting a baby in July and some friends of ours here were shocked to find out they are expecting as well. Babies are such a blessing!
And for the quote of the week: The boys were in the kitchen chatting with me as I washed the dishes when Anna came running in. She stopped at the door and said, "Ewww! Stinky boys!" Then she ran away laughing her head off. The boys and I were rather surprised, yet tickled, at her little outburst.
Anna is now the proud owner of a potty seat. Yep, we're starting to train her. We'll see how fast she catches on. I'm usually sad about each milestone we reach with her since she's our last (unless God exhibits His sense of humor in my direction) but this milestone I'll rejoice about! A world with no diaper changes....sign me up!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Happy Birthday to Me!
This past weekend, I decided to turn 34 and have a two-day birthday celebration. Hmm...I guess I'm double umpteen! When I was a child and heard the term "umpteen" I always thought it was the number 17. Yeah, I know....RANDOM!
Anyway, Rob and I looked at our plans for the 31st and realized they were heavily kid-laden, so we had a grown-up celebration on the 30th. He was off work that day so we found a sitter and went out on a date. He let me break out my Lane Bryant credit card and I found a few clothing items I needed. Right next door to LB is a new Catherine's outlet and they had sent me a 50% off coupon, so it was worth a look. We had the exact same impression when we walked into the store: Hmmmm.....plus-sized rich old lady look everywhere! Nothing against women in that category, but I'm a little young for those styles. I did manage to find two skirts that I liked.
Afterwards Rob took me to the Cobblestone restaurant. (Aside: I'm always amazed when people say that there are no good places to eat in Watertown or that we have very few restaurants. There are loads of great places if you're willing to eat at a non-chain place! Hooray for locals!) It's right on our block at The Market, a shopping mall full of great little locally-owned stores. We ate the lunch buffet, which is considerably cheaper than anything on the menu. It was very good and fun to eat at a place that is not kid-friendly! We went home to find well-behaved boys and a napping girl.
Later that night, I went to a Stampin UP! party, made some cards, and ordered some new supplies with my birthday money. I'm very excited about my Christmas cards this year. I snuck in the house as Rob was settling the kids down for bedtime and cleaned up after their popcorn snack.
On my birthday morning, the children presented me with cards and gifts. The boys gave me a snowflake punch for cardmaking, Anna gave me lip balm b/c she is forever stealing mine (Mip Malm nummy!), and Rob gave me a Culver's gift card to feed my cheeseburger addiction. He also gave me a card that screams when I open it. I had my favorite breakfast, then spent the morning cardmaking and playing Mario Party 8, which we had borrowed from a friend.
After lunch, the children got dressed and we went out trick-or-treating. I just LOVE that sport! Matthew was Batman, Ben was Spiderman, and Anna was a Care Bear. It was 45 degrees outside and I was concerned about their warmth, but I swore when I was a kid that I would NEVER make my children wear winter coats over their Halloween costumes so I bundled them up good underneath :) I shouldn't have worried b/c the boys practically ran from house to house. Anna stayed in her stroller, but still managed to accumulate a fair amount of candy. We did about five blocks and a few side streets, then came home to relieve Rob. Anna went down for a nap and the boys and I handed out candy. I almost think they have more fun giving it away!
We woke Anna up around 4pm and took off for a little Halloween party given by some people at our church. The children were all in their costumes and had fun playing. We had a yummy supper, the kids beat a pinata to death and then consumed too much cake and ice cream, and the adults had a good time talking. Anna was a little intimidated by the two labs (No horsey! No horsey!) so the dogs were put away. Otherwise it was a great night.
We bathed three little people and put them to bed. Amazingly enough, they conked right out! Time change woke them up a little early, but it was okay. Rob usually up early anyway. Today it meant I could bake muffins for breakfast :)
It was a great birthday and now I'm starting to look forward to Christmas. I know, I know, Thanksgiving is first, but I'm not a huge celebrator of that holiday other than making a large meal. I'm thankful all of the time, and right now I'm thankful for a good birthday and a husband who is making supper so I can blog :)
Anyway, Rob and I looked at our plans for the 31st and realized they were heavily kid-laden, so we had a grown-up celebration on the 30th. He was off work that day so we found a sitter and went out on a date. He let me break out my Lane Bryant credit card and I found a few clothing items I needed. Right next door to LB is a new Catherine's outlet and they had sent me a 50% off coupon, so it was worth a look. We had the exact same impression when we walked into the store: Hmmmm.....plus-sized rich old lady look everywhere! Nothing against women in that category, but I'm a little young for those styles. I did manage to find two skirts that I liked.
Afterwards Rob took me to the Cobblestone restaurant. (Aside: I'm always amazed when people say that there are no good places to eat in Watertown or that we have very few restaurants. There are loads of great places if you're willing to eat at a non-chain place! Hooray for locals!) It's right on our block at The Market, a shopping mall full of great little locally-owned stores. We ate the lunch buffet, which is considerably cheaper than anything on the menu. It was very good and fun to eat at a place that is not kid-friendly! We went home to find well-behaved boys and a napping girl.
Later that night, I went to a Stampin UP! party, made some cards, and ordered some new supplies with my birthday money. I'm very excited about my Christmas cards this year. I snuck in the house as Rob was settling the kids down for bedtime and cleaned up after their popcorn snack.
On my birthday morning, the children presented me with cards and gifts. The boys gave me a snowflake punch for cardmaking, Anna gave me lip balm b/c she is forever stealing mine (Mip Malm nummy!), and Rob gave me a Culver's gift card to feed my cheeseburger addiction. He also gave me a card that screams when I open it. I had my favorite breakfast, then spent the morning cardmaking and playing Mario Party 8, which we had borrowed from a friend.
After lunch, the children got dressed and we went out trick-or-treating. I just LOVE that sport! Matthew was Batman, Ben was Spiderman, and Anna was a Care Bear. It was 45 degrees outside and I was concerned about their warmth, but I swore when I was a kid that I would NEVER make my children wear winter coats over their Halloween costumes so I bundled them up good underneath :) I shouldn't have worried b/c the boys practically ran from house to house. Anna stayed in her stroller, but still managed to accumulate a fair amount of candy. We did about five blocks and a few side streets, then came home to relieve Rob. Anna went down for a nap and the boys and I handed out candy. I almost think they have more fun giving it away!
We woke Anna up around 4pm and took off for a little Halloween party given by some people at our church. The children were all in their costumes and had fun playing. We had a yummy supper, the kids beat a pinata to death and then consumed too much cake and ice cream, and the adults had a good time talking. Anna was a little intimidated by the two labs (No horsey! No horsey!) so the dogs were put away. Otherwise it was a great night.
We bathed three little people and put them to bed. Amazingly enough, they conked right out! Time change woke them up a little early, but it was okay. Rob usually up early anyway. Today it meant I could bake muffins for breakfast :)
It was a great birthday and now I'm starting to look forward to Christmas. I know, I know, Thanksgiving is first, but I'm not a huge celebrator of that holiday other than making a large meal. I'm thankful all of the time, and right now I'm thankful for a good birthday and a husband who is making supper so I can blog :)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Anna's New Hobby
Anna is quite fascinated these days by all things diaper-related. She takes off her diaper when she's wet and parades around bottom-less. Methinks it's time to potty train rather than chasing around a naked baby all day.
She also likes to check her dollies to see if they are stinky. She'll pretend to look in their diapers and say, "Eww! Baby stinky! Needs a diapie change." Yesterday I had to pretend to change two dolly diapers before she would take her nap.
But today was the kicker. We were at the library checking out our books when the boys walked right in front of Anna's stroller. Anna reached out and grabbed Matthew's waistband, pulled it out until she could see his bottom and said, "Eww! Stinky! Needs a diapie change!" Then she checked Ben. The librarian and I were rolling by this point and the boys were rather surprised their bottoms were exposed in public. I directed them to a better standing place, then Anna tried to reach up and grab my skirt. Thankfully she's not tall enough!
She also likes to check her dollies to see if they are stinky. She'll pretend to look in their diapers and say, "Eww! Baby stinky! Needs a diapie change." Yesterday I had to pretend to change two dolly diapers before she would take her nap.
But today was the kicker. We were at the library checking out our books when the boys walked right in front of Anna's stroller. Anna reached out and grabbed Matthew's waistband, pulled it out until she could see his bottom and said, "Eww! Stinky! Needs a diapie change!" Then she checked Ben. The librarian and I were rolling by this point and the boys were rather surprised their bottoms were exposed in public. I directed them to a better standing place, then Anna tried to reach up and grab my skirt. Thankfully she's not tall enough!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Get Out of Here!
That's what we yelled at ourselves on Wednesday and we obeyed right away (with a happy face and a happy heart as the kids learn in the 2's and 3'd SS class at church.) We were all feeling better (all at least at 90% or better) so we went out for supper before church. Rob and I had been hording back an Applebee's gift card for a date, but we used it on the family instead. Since it was kids eat for 99 cents night, we fed the whole family on that card and still have a few dollars left. Then we went to church, which we haven't done for three weeks as a collective group. Anna was so eager to get into the nursery that she kept trying to open the gate herself! We heard many shouts of "You're all here!" as we walked around.
Yesterday we decided to go to a mall in Madison so I could use some Lane Bryant coupons that were about to expire. Silly things weren't good at the outlet 10 miles away, so we had to go to Madison, but that's okay. Rob and the kids wandered around while I shopped (and shopped...and shopped). There wasn't a play area but he did keep them occupied with some Auntie Ann's pretzels. After I found all the great deals I could (yes, part of my bday gift) we ate a light lunch and headed back home. Anna and I went out grocery shopping later while the boys cleaned up the house, including clearing off the porch for winter. It felt soooo good to get stuff done around here!
And today, I ran out in the morning to renew my driver's license. Then we all went to Maranatha for the yearly Dramatic Play Group hosted by the teacher of the 3-year-old Sunday school class at our church. The boys had a great time dressing in costumes and listening to stories. Anna wouldn't put on a costume, but she did have fun running around and visiting various offices with Daddy. I enjoyed chatting some with the other moms, so a fun time was had by all :)
Man, it just feels so good to get around! I did talk to one of the girls who babysits our kids and her family had swine flu in varying degrees around the same time we were all sick. I'm beginning to wonder if that isn't what we had, but wonder is all I can do at this point. I don't really care what it was...it's over and we're having fun being healthy!
Yesterday we decided to go to a mall in Madison so I could use some Lane Bryant coupons that were about to expire. Silly things weren't good at the outlet 10 miles away, so we had to go to Madison, but that's okay. Rob and the kids wandered around while I shopped (and shopped...and shopped). There wasn't a play area but he did keep them occupied with some Auntie Ann's pretzels. After I found all the great deals I could (yes, part of my bday gift) we ate a light lunch and headed back home. Anna and I went out grocery shopping later while the boys cleaned up the house, including clearing off the porch for winter. It felt soooo good to get stuff done around here!
And today, I ran out in the morning to renew my driver's license. Then we all went to Maranatha for the yearly Dramatic Play Group hosted by the teacher of the 3-year-old Sunday school class at our church. The boys had a great time dressing in costumes and listening to stories. Anna wouldn't put on a costume, but she did have fun running around and visiting various offices with Daddy. I enjoyed chatting some with the other moms, so a fun time was had by all :)
Man, it just feels so good to get around! I did talk to one of the girls who babysits our kids and her family had swine flu in varying degrees around the same time we were all sick. I'm beginning to wonder if that isn't what we had, but wonder is all I can do at this point. I don't really care what it was...it's over and we're having fun being healthy!
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