2008 in Review

I know you're all dying to know how I did on my aspirations for this year. Okay so I guess I just want to see (in print) how I did. :)

* Read a book outloud with EH (Sadly not accomplished BUT we did listen to a couple of the CDs from All Creatures Great and Small while on a trip this last Spring - Thanks to my oldest brother for borrowing them to us!)

* Open on Etsy shop (Done! Although poorly managed over the last 6-9 months!)

* Continue praying through the Power of a Praying Parent/Wife (Done!)

* Give up toilet paper and give washable reusables a try (Um, not done. I wanted to maintain my friendship with certain people who threatened severing ties if we did this. I shall mention no names, you KNOW who you are!)

* Set up a school area in the family room for Kindergarten (Done!)

* Get my eyebrows done (Done! - thanks to Julie - who doesn't read this but thanks just the same!)

Fireplace & floor

Look what happened in the last week! A fireplace mantle and a lovely wood floor. Many heartfelt thanks to my father, FIL, and EH for their very hard labors and late nights. It was so nice to have it done in time for hosting Christmas!






















Please excuse the five year old stuffing his mouth with muffin - you can kinda see the floor there. I love it, love it, love it!

Picts are up

I posted a couple of picts of our Thanksgiving lapbooks. They aren't close ups but they'll give you the idea of what we did. Just peek at the original post here to see them.

Welcome to the family

This month (the 17th) we were thrilled to have my youngest brother and his fiancé tie the marital knot. On the 20th we feasted on a beautiful 3-tiered red velvet wedding cake and celebrated their promises to one another. Can I just say how much I adore having SILs! Auntie S is no exception!

Balancing Act

We took a few days off prior to Christmas so we still have a few things I wanted to finish up before the new year. Math is mostly the subject we need to catch up on. Yesterday I dug out the supplies and we tried our hands at building a balance scale I found instructions for at Miss Mary's Preschool Ideas. It worked pretty well although I underestimated the amount of time it would take to cut the wire hanger with the wire cutter. Agent H had a great time guessing how many pennies or building blocks, etc. it would take to equal the amount of a bar of soap.

I'll take pictures but the process to get pictures online is still clumsy so I'm not sure if they'll make it anytime soon.

Agent H's loose tooth

About a month ago Agent H commented on how his tooth felt loose. I gave it a wiggle and I wasn't so sure. Yesterday we gave it a wiggle and it definitely has some jiggle. His first loose tooth!

As he is the oldest kid I feel like we're breaking new parental ground. How do we make this special? We never played the Santa game and the same will be for the Tooth Fairy. BUT I want to do some under-the-pillow fun. Obviously this is going to involve some serious internet research! J/K :) Any suggestions?

(By the way, we do our best to tell our kids not to spoil the Santa surprise for other kids - but I never know what they will say!)

Resistance is Futile

Okay so I'm not referring to an alien species but I am talking about Facebook. My resolve to not join is weakening. I'm telling you if I get sucked in I'm not going alone, just warning you EH.

Me time

Little LE has been toting along with me to my stamp club nights. He's done great though it hasn't really been a time for me to let down and enjoy some crafting as I had hoped. Monday EH gave me a huge gift as he agreed to manage all three little fellas for the night so I could go out alone. The whole drive over to Kari's I kept looking over my shoulder to check on a baby that wasn't there. My shoulders relaxed . . . my face relaxed (well as much as I could driving on slippery/snowy roads) it was wonderful. Thank you EH for giving me some time to relax.

Unveiled

Around this time of the year I usually pull out my copy of Unafraid, Francine River's version of what being the Mother of Jesus could have been like (click here for my post about it last year). This year I'm going to back up in Jesus' lineage and read again about Tamar in the book Unveiled. Tamar's husband dies and she has to marry her brother-in-law, then he dies and she has to marry another brother-in-law, then . . . I'm not going to spoil the ending, unless you remember how it ends from the Bible. Gesh! I'm glad I wasn't a woman in those days!

Movies to love

These are my current favorite DVDs.











Persuasion is a Jane Austin story (almost surpassing my love for Pride & Prejudice), Sweet Land I bought with out even seeing it because two people who have my style nailed said I would love it (and I did!). The middle one there, Pilates for Dummies, maybe not so much my favorite but I look at it often enough with good intensions and that's about it.

Painting

We've been painting! Not myself so much even though I love to do it. EH and his dad have been hard at work trying to finish off our basement levels. Our family room and EH's office has been painted with my laundry room possibly to follow soon. I'm crossing my fingers that we might even get the mantle for the fireplace stained and varnished and the flooring installed in our family room before Christmas. I'm having difficulty deciding on the flooring. I plan to use the space for homeschool (including crafts with the kids) so I want an easily cleanable floor. I also like the idea of a greener/healthier/reknewable flooring so I'm seriously considering cork. I so wish I could just have some HGTV design team come and help make these decisions! Thank you to my neighbors, family, and friends who have been kind enough to listen to me blather on about the options and even offer input!




Don't you just want to reach out and tickle Ebug's belly? I guess I need to buy him some T-shirts that actually fit.

Honey Soup

The boys clamored for hot honey water before bed tonight. I don't usually indulge cause generally it means a midnight potty run that Agent H is sure to wake me up for. But tonight, the boys were fresh out of the tub and looking so irresistibly snugly and sweet that I in gave in. As we said our good night prayers it took me a moment to realize what it was that Ebug was thanking Jesus for . . . "honey soup".

Trying to Twitter

Does anyone know how this Twitter thing works? I signed up to do it but I really have no idea how to "do" it. How do I find the folks I want to follow? I suppose I could just check out the "Help" section but it so nice to have first hand info. Thanks!

Childhood friend

My childhood bosom friend (and still a dear friend) MT has been diagnosed with Lupus. She writes about it in her journal. Please forgive me if I've been out-of-sorts, I've been feeling a bit kitty-wampus over this and really haven't trusted myself to talk about it. She and her husband have two little darlings and she's been suffering from debilitating headaches. I'm sure she would be grateful for your prayers.

Thanksgiving crafts

Lapbooking is all the rage here! We did some cool math centers a couple of weeks ago (I'll post about them later) and recently we've been working on our Thanksgiving lapbooks. I pretty much just copied what 1+1+1=1 did. The boys love going back and looking at all they put into their books.

An invitation

There has been a lot going on that I've wanted to post about but the hours just seem to slip away. Anyone else feel like they are barely keeping their necks above water?

I just received a very important invitation. At breakfast Agent H declared he wants to be a knight when he grows up (not the first time) and then he asked what I want to be when I grow up. (I'm not sure if that's good the he thinks I haven't grown up yet or not.) I said I'll probably stick to being a momma and their teacher for awhile. He said "Well if you want, maybe you could be the princess in my castle." Sigh . . . that sounds wonderful.

Stinky and crunchy

Ebug commented to me "Something's stinky!" in his little 2 and a half year old voice. "Could it be your diaper?" I questioned. After a pause he pointed to his nose and said "Nope, it's the boogers."

Can you handle some bathroom talk? After Ebug deposited some business into this diaper he came to me to say " I have crunchies in my diaper." Nice. I know that in the past I've posted about potty training but have I mentioned lately that we're STILL doing it?

Our first snow fall

Agent H and Ebug are at the table warming up from their early morning play in our first snow. Hot cocoa and fresh apple cinnamon muffins do wonders to help with that. I've served myself some Throat Coat tea that magically transforms my scratchy throat into something much more tolerable.

What only hours ago was a peaceful landscape of white is now a maze of boot tracks and playful caos.

We get what we ask for

I've removed my McCain/Palin sign. Sigh. . . My good friend MT noticed my lack in posting lately and remarked that I must be in political mourning. It's true. I think I'm in a denial phase. I recall A Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor remarking after our election four years ago that he wanted to just roll into the fetal position and stay there for the next four years. Well that's how I feel this time around. I'm trying not to bite my nails to the quick and fight the urge to go buy huge surpluses of food/supplies to be prepared "just-in-case".

The mantra among like-minded folks that I meet with these days: Of course God is still in control, but we get what we ask for.

Library Redemption

Blue Train, Green Train. I had a visual memory of Ebug reaching up to slide the book into the library book drop but I guess that doesn't help much when the library says they have no record of you returning the book so they charge you $17.99 for it. (yes it's a run-on) Even after I asked them to double check, they said it wasn't there. Then about 3 months later I got a check in the mail for my 17.99, the book had been found and I was redeemed. Sigh. . . it so good to know that I'm not completely loosing it.

Agent H humor & politics

"We're like a family of chickens, only we're not chickens!" yes Agent H said that.

As I was eyeing a nice sensible BROWN leather ottoman that was on clearance at Target, Agent H was eyeing the bright RED ottoman across the aisle and he said to me "Sometimes its good to shake things up Mom."

This conversation was relayed to me by Ga. She and Agent H were out and about and he had a conversation that went something like this with a store employee.

Store Employee: Are you in kindergarten?
Agent H: Yes, homeschool kindergarten.
Store Employee: Ahhh okay.
Agent H: And we don't want the brown guy to be president because he doesn't like homeschool.

Hmmm . . . explanation. Earlier I had been reading to him a story about good sportsmanship that focused on the abuse that Jackie Robinson endured as the first professional colored baseball player. Then to explain how things have changed for the better, I explained that a black gentleman is running in the presidential election. He thought that was cool and that we should vote for him. I explained that it is cool but that we disagree with him on a lot of issues (including that he doesn't want us to be able to homeschool) so we would be voting for someone else. So, now he tells everyone just that. I guess we don't need a sign in our yard, he's telling everyone for us.

Happy All Saints

This was before they realized it was "gooey and gross" inside the pumpkins. Then they begged the job off on to me. Wimps!







I could have chosen the picture where they were nicely posed beside LE but let's face it, this one is just funnier!






After an hour of trick or treating we went to a nearby church for a party and a magic show. Our army guy is a bit spent and the little pirate snuck in one last lollypop before crashing into bed.





I leave you with a little of EH's handiwork.

I'm giving away Amy! (Closed)

THIS GIVE AWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to all who entered! One blessed winner gets to bring home Amy Grant's Rock of Ages. I love my copy and I guess I liked it so much I picked up a second copy - hmmmm - who knows! (THE FINE PRINT: The jewel case has a crack in it but otherwise it's new and still in its plastic wrap.)

Short and sweet - 'cause for those of you going through the list of 1300+ giveaways at Bloggy Giveaway you're probably a little cross-eyed.

Leave me a comment - tell me if your dishes are done or not. Currently my husband is doing the dishes. Neener neener neener!

I'll do the drawing between Saturday night and Sunday night. I'll ship to the US and Canada (cross my fingers that it doesn't break the bank).

Hey, don't forget to stretch your arms a bit and focus your eyes on something across the room. I'm sure there are more give-aways being added by the minute and you don't want to go permanently numb or blind, cause of course that could make future blogging difficult.

Thanks for stopping by.

Congrats Bro!

This December my brother will be a married man! Last night our family celebrated with him and his lovely fiance and her family. It's wonderful to see them in love and we're happy to be welcoming her and her children to our family.

Dinner dress

We have a special dinner to go to tonight so I did a little shopping for something to wear. I came home with black and gray . . . again. Someone really needs to hit me with a rainbow.

Claw Monet

Agent H is enjoying his classes at co-op. He's usually singing his songs from music class for a couple days after class. Yesterday afternoon he asked me if I knew that Claw Monet (insert him clawing the air here!) and De . . on . .ardo La . .Vi . .n . .ci were artists. I love it!

Bosch results

I don't have any pictures to show off my labors but I did get to put my Bosch to work this week. I made 3 loaves of bread with winter white berries (next I'll try winter red berries), a pizza crust for the freezer and a big batch of parmesan herb dough for calzones. Yum, yum, and yum some more. I love that the house smelled so good for EH when he walked in the door after work.

Up for air

The new Lego Magazine just arrived in the post - Agent H will come up for air in a few days.

Homeschool Co-op & a book bag

I'm so glad that I followed through on the encouragement I received to join up with the homeschool co-op at our church. Every other Friday morning we'll meet up with other homeschoolers and Agent H gets to hang out with other K and 1st graders. He has PE, art, and music. Ebug has joined the preschoolers class. He's a little young but the teacher says we'll just see how it goes. I'm working in the nursery for a couple of hours and then I get to go rub shoulders with the veteran homeschoolers and get ideas (and a few other newbies!).

Agent H needed a book bag and I still have fond memories of the Holly Hobby one my mom made for me back in the day so . . . I was convinced I needed to make him one too. He was all about doing stunts and tricks for the camera. At least you can kinda get the idea. It's a messenger bag - I found the tutorial at Lang Lang Creations. We repurposed an old jean skirt for the outside and lined it with some !TOTALLY COOL MAN! car fabric. Agent H picked out his favorite car and we sewed it onto the front of the bag. Ebug keeps asking for his so hopefully I'll get one made for him to show off as well.

Muffin Tin Monday: Take 3

The boys were giddy with excitement to devour their lunch today. The MTM theme was Halloween. Since we don't do scary my plan was to make their lunch of healthy food look like a plate of candy. Hmmm . . . I really wish EH was around during the day to do photo shoots - his shots always turn out better than mine.










Apple slice with a grape on a stick = lollypop
P&J sandwhich roll = candy bar
(that really doesn't look like one cause the boys were super hungry and I couldn't putz anymore)
Cheese borings = marshmellows
Hot dogs (turkey) and raisins = worms in dirt
(okay, admittedly not candy-like but fun)
Sunflower seeds (in stripped green paper stick) = sugar stick
and the candy corn are just that!

Glass bottles

I have been read reviews trying to figure out what type of "healthy" bottles to replace my plastic ones with. After drooling over all the super adorable ones I ended up ordering the cheap Evenflo glass bottles. As I placed the order I felt bummed not to get the ones with the cute bug designs or neat rubber covers. Sigh . . . But, as I pulled my Evenflo from the box (thank you amazon.com) I fell in love with their simplicity. The bottles have embossed measuring markers on the sides and they really are so very lovely!

Now hopefully I can find replacement nipples for them as LE won't stand for the silicone ones that came with them. As a side note, I found out that the Medela plastic bags that I store my milk in don't contain BPA so I can still use my drop-in bottles with the latex nipples.

Milling & Mixing

EH snapped this pic as I was reading manuals and wondering what on earth I just bought and how operate these beasts! I think I even impressed him with my 800W (insert Tool Time grunting here) Bosch mixer and Nutrimill flour mill. I can whip out 6 loaves of bread or 3 loaves of bread, 2 pizza crusts, and a batch of cinnamon rolls with this deal. Last night I milled up my first batch of soft white wheat berries. Hopefully early this week I'll get a batch of bread made up. We broke in the Bosch with a batch of apple/raisin/oatmeal cookies which really didn't even last long enough to know that they ever existed. Delicious!

Muffin Tins: Take 2

Once again I'm really late in posting this but really it's not entirely my fault. I can't download photos to my computer from the camera right now . . . I won't go into it because I really don't understand it. I just nod my head and smile when my dear EH tries to explain it to me. Thank you sweetheart!

* Grapes/Just Fruit Munchies (depending on the kiddo)
* Hard boiled eggs/cheese & crackers (again depending on the kiddo)
* pb&j rounds (cut with an apple corer)
* delicious (!) apple, raisin, oatmeal cookies

More at Sycamore Stirrings

The Loving Brothers

I love you well, my little brother,
And you are fond of me;
Let us be kind to one another,
As brothers ought to be.
You shall learn to play with me,
And learn to use my toys;
And then I think that we shall be
Two happy little boys.

-Mother Goose

About today

What I love about today . . .
- agent H asked what LE's last name is
- watching Ebug's little "crack" bob about the yard as his pants weren't staying up
- the merry little breezes were busy playing in the trees and sent down lots of lovely leaves
- realizing that it's been over a week since LE's been sleeping 7-9 hours at night
- reading about the escapades of Peter Cottontail while Agent H curls up next to me to ward off autumn's chill
- finding a tender poem about brothers that I hope to stitch

Measuring cups

Does anyone else wonder where on earth their measuring cups have gone to and then you find them in the bag of flour in the freezer . . . you would think I would eventually think to just look in the freezer. I've heard this is called "mommy brain" and it manifests itself in ways too numerous to count.

CM & Classic Children's Literature

I'm seriously interested in Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy. I have yet to actually read any of her work though. Tonight I found a very nice webiste (Ambleside Online ) with great CM resources. One of them is a link to her six volumes written in modern English.

Also listed is a link to The Baldwin Project. A collection of children's classic texts online. You will never retell the story of The Three Little Bears the same after reading this version. It's delightful for the ears and imagination!

Here is their book-list recommended for kindergartners. Library, here I come!

12 years

My EH and I celebrate 12 years of marriage today. I second Agent H's response to the news . . . "Saaaweeet!"
I love you dear EH!
xoxo

Sleep Tight

The crib was over there.
The rocker was over there.
The clothes were over there.
The diapers were over there.
Just no baby. Until last night. . .

Sweet LE slept in his big crib last night . . . across the hall . . . over there. Not in the bassinet snuggled in the corner of our room. Sigh . . . it was time. Of course I checked on him at some blurry-eyed time of the night and he was sleeping peacefully with no concern about being . . . over there. He even slept a full 7+ hours and woke up a bit chatty, a hungry chatty, but happy hungry chatty. After filling his belly he was all smiles. Can I keep him forever?

Note: Last night was LE's second night snoozing in his crib and he slept a solid 9 hours!

100 Buffalo

"I'm as hungry as 100 buffalo!"
"I'm as hot as 100 buffalo!"
"I"m as thirsty as 100 buffalo!"
"I'm as tired as 100 buffalo!"

-spoken by Agent H at any given moment . . .
must be all that bison we're eating with our tacos.

Computer time with Ebug

Tuesday nights Ebug, LE and I see Papa and Agent H off to AWANA. EH and a buddy go shoot trains (photos that is) while Agent H hangs out with friends for the evening.

Ebug has a hard time seeing them leave, so to help ease his sorrow I have been suggesting that we go for a walk to which he replies "Oh YES Mama, good idea mama, thank you mama!" for the next 20 minutes. Really! It melts my heart how something so simple means so much to him.

The rain kept us from walking tonight so we played on the computer. I really haven't had him on the computer yet, probably because Agent H usually lays claim to it. Here are some of the places we checked out:

Goldenbooks.com (Fairly nice educational games - skill levels are a little beyond his 2.5 years but we found some fun games and really cute printables)

Starfall.com (Phonetic games and some fun activities like decorating a pumpkin online or creating a winter scene - there is so much at this place, I should really do this with Agent H too).

Kidzclub.com (Online children's stories to listen to, nursery rhymes/activities, and cool flashcards. Be sure the check out their "Story Links" on the Stories and Props page!!)

Oh my goodness I can't wait to do petertherabbit.com with Agent H - it's so lovely! The music and graphics just make me all oohy and goohy.

LE's Dedication

The rain cleared and provided a moment for us to dash to "our outlook" at the Rum River with family where we praised God for our dear LE and to dedicate ourselves to training up him in our faith. He unashamedly slept through it all.




Thank you for the precious prayers dear family and for once again showing your love and support for us.







Last night EH asked what I was so happy about . . . all I could say was that "I'm just happy, I feel content". I saw an old aquantence the other night and he too commented on how happy I looked. I'm so grateful for this fullness of heart!

French Peasant Bread

Can you smell the warm, yeasty aroma of this peasant bread? I enjoyed this recipe because it was a simple no knead bread. I found it at Confessions of a Bake-A-Holic. I served this with chef salad for dinner and then I sent a wedge of it filled with raw cheese and bacon with my husband for his lunch the next day. It made one of his photos of the day. It's a new family favorite!

THEY called

I received a call from Planned Parenthood today. They wanted to know who I was going to vote for in the senate race. The caller's response to my answer was "Well thanks anyway." My vote . . . I sure hope it makes a difference, I know they say it does but sometimes you wonder. Maybe it's just the discouragement that comes from living in a lefty state.

While I'm at it (sorry folks), why is it that if you're interested in living "green" it's assumed that you're also a liberal. Grrr . . . and grrr some more. I hope my lefty friends still like me . . .

Muffin Tins

I love this idea! I think we'll jump on board with Muffin Tin Monday over at Sycamore Stirrings. Of course it's Wednesday but I did serve this on Monday for the boys' lunch. The theme this week was shapes.

Circles: rice crackers with PB or PB/apple sandwhiches
Squares: Late July cheese crackers
Triangles: cheese
Ovals: grapes and raisins

Yes I know that I didn't actually use muffin tins. :) This will be the best I can do for a bit as my tins are not fit to eat from and I'm out of paper cups. Actually I really like these!

Field Trip

Our first field trip of the year and we spent most of it in the car. Generally I'm not too bad with directions but this time I really messed up with the road construction detour. Thankfully the kids were all well amused or sleeping and one might wonder if I actually planned such a long drive just because I'd have time to talk with my friend (Agent E's mom). I'm beginning to feel like I don't go or do anything without her because she's always helping me with my young brood of kiddos. Thank you!

Once we arrived at the best apple orchard ever (last year's trip) we had about 45 minutes to pet farm critters, roll in huge bins filled with dried corn, pose by some pumpkins, and pick a few apples.

Gross motor skills

My curriculum by Heart of Dakota is great! But I have to say I'm not a big fan of the Rhyme Time activities. It's usually a rhyme that I say/sing along with hand/body actions. I just have a hard time learning a new one each week and the boys aren't that cooperative. I do plan to do some of them but I'd like an alternative. Does anyone know of a CD or DVD that I could use instead? I'm looking for something that gives instructions to do different body motions (jump forwards, backwards, side to side, etc.) to fun music. Thanks!

Activity Bins

So those bins that I posted about . . . I love them! I read about them in a magazine and latched onto the idea. The idea is that you let your preschooler pick out a bin and that they play with it for 10-15 minutes, then you let them clean it up and pick out another one to play with. Hopefully this buys you time to work on schoolwork with your older child/children. I keep the bins exclusively for school time so that they hold some extra appeal.

Here is a list of what currently fills my bins. I think I'll probably switch things up in another month or two to try and keep things interesting.





- A wooden connect four game that was in the dollar section at Target
- Black beans and my Discovery Toys Measure Up Cups
- Mini books
- A chain of carabeiners to link and unlink together
- Colored paper strips for cutting
- Ink pad, stamps and paper
- Lauri lacing shapes
- Lauri Locktagons
- Lauri Fit-A-Space
- Foam alphabet puzzle, again from the dollar section at Target
- and of course Legos!

I had a bin filled with Papo plastic animals and a wooden collapsable fence (made by my Grandpa T) but it was in such demand for playing zoo that we had to leave it out for regular use!

If anyone has ideas about what to fill these bins with in the future, I'd love your ideas! I'm thinking stickers, more games by Lauri and . . . .?

Up North

Once upon a time this summer we went on a vacation. . . I'm finally getting around to journaling it. It's over here if you'd like to hear about it.

Our harvest

Our small garden produced a very small harvest. We feasted on lettuce and rhubarb and that's about it. The one tomato that grew spoiled, the corn was consumed and chewed down by squirrels?. The pepper plant didn't produce and our watermelons never pinkified on the inside (okay ripened).

We were however pleasantly surprised by some unexpected bounty. Wild strawberries and wild black raspberries



One thing our yard was pretty good at supporting was ants. Last year I noticed a large ant colony establishing itself under one of our oaks, right under my clothesline. There were huge areas where the dirt had been pushed up by the ants. This year they were back and had spread to more areas. I asked my girlfriend who knows ALL when it comes to treating anything naturally. Boiling water was her solution. I dumped tea pot after tea pot of boiling water and it worked! Okay so our grass was a bit charred for a few weeks but it greened up again and the ants didn't come back.

School with Papa

School any time, any place. Sounds like a motto for a homeschooler.

One evening last week EH took over class and instructed the boys on the science of weights - in the bathroom of course. He fashioned a boat out of tin foil and then he and the boys went up to the bath tub to see how much weight it would take to sink. I think they managed to sink it without getting too wet - a major accomplishment in itself! But as you can see, we were prepared with minimal clothing.

Look Ma!

Look Ma . . . no training wheels! Yes indeed he's kicked the side wheels. I think he could have done it months ago but we just didn't get our act together to do it. When I considered working with him I felt like I had no idea where to start. So, JK to the rescue. Agent E and his mom were over for a visit and she let me shang-high her into teaching Agent H. I figured she had already trained four kids so she's got to be an expert. I was right! She had a great way of organizing the process for him into steps and instructing him. Thank you JK and way to go Agent H!

Starting K

Photos of our first day of Kindergarten (and tot school).

Agent H took a few shots of the lovely PJ wearing teacher. She had better get her act together - jesh!












We started with the pledge of allegence and the Christian pledge. After two days of trying to keep both boys pointed in the direction of the flag, with hands over hearts, repeating the unfamiliar words I decided saying the pledges on just Mondays would be a good enough for now.

Here's a little surprise I gave the boys, I think there's a little fur showing in the picture. Every kindergarten needs a classroom puppet right? I know this is so very original but we named our rabbit puppet Peter in honor of the Beatrix Potter books we're reading as a part of our curriculum.



Both boys working in their workbooks. Ebug (formerly known as Little E) loves his 3-ring binder filled with left over worksheets, a tip I picked up from a lecture at MACHE a year ago.











I love these bins! (Top shelf) I actually assembled them for Ebug but they are helpful in more ways than I had anticipated. As I read our first history lesson Agent H figited the entire time and summed up the lesson with "history is boring!". So the next day we did our lesson at the table and each boy got to pick a bin to play with. With their hands busy, they listened quietly. I almost skipped the questions at the end of the chapter thinking it would be a waste but then I changed my mind and asked anyways. Agent H happily knew the answer to every one of them. I'm thinking kinestetic learner . . . ?

By far I think our favorite part of school is story time. We're reading Reddy Fox by Thornton W. Burgess. After reading one day we wrote a letter to Reddy warning him about being so boastful. Agent H dictated the letter to me and then we planted it in Reddy's mailbox outside and played hide 'n seek.

We've had such a fun time together! I'm still trying to figure out how to manage the house along with school. For now, I've given up bread baking.