Life in Portrait

We took a field trip to The National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday for a homeschool event. The day started out rushed, of course. I had to get everyone up, fed, dressed, then go to the grocery before I could pack lunch before we could get on the metro at 9:30am. When I returned from the grocery the kids were playing outside, enjoying the fall leaves and cool weather.

Around 9:30 when we were scheduled to leave, Lillee informed me her tummy hurt. I thought it was about snack time and she was just hungry or needed to go potty. So I sent her to the restroom, grabbed our snacks and lunch and headed out the door for the metro. Her tummy did not get to feeling better. Once we were on the metro she was moaning, rolling around and looking quite pale.

We had to hop off the train and wait for the next train to come along just to give her tummy a little break. She was such a trooper. We arrived at the portrait gallery, had our picnic lunch and waited for the doors to open. Lillee was still feeling bad. She did enjoy seeing some other kids waiting to get in and being Lillee, decided to go over and make friends with some older girls. When the girls' mother wanted to take a picture of them Lillee wouldn't move out of the shot. She just sat there with a long face and tried to blend into the group. 5 years from now they'll look at their picture and wonder, "Who was that young girl?"

We saw some fascinating portraits, sculptures, daguerreotypes and even the Preamble of the US Constitution in license plate short hand. We were able to make corn husk dolls thanks to the homeschooling event the gallery was hosting and self-guide ourselves through parts that were interesting to 3, 4 and 6 year old children. Since we're studying the Presidents of the US this semester, this was a great place to see the presidents of the past and even read a bit of their history.

We also found it fascinating that in the exhibit Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924 there was a wall labeled Discord and on this wall was a daguerreotype of Brigham Young. And in the center aisle of hallway there was a large poster of Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's 19th wife, and her role in speaking out against polygamy and Mormonism. It is always interesting seeing an outsiders view of being Mormon.

By the time we finished our corn husk dolls, Lillee was certain she had had it. I carried her out of the gallery, back to the metro where she eventually fell asleep on the ride home. As soon as we came out of the tunnels I was on the phone to the pediatrician trying to secure an appointment. They had only one left for the day and we took it!

She fell asleep in the car on the way to the Pediatrician and I carried her again and held her all through the appointment. If you don't know my Lillee that well then these statements mean nothing. At the age of 4, she is fiercely independent - at 18 months she stopped napping, completely...I think she was afraid she would miss out on something if she slept.

The Dr checked her ear, which she had been complaining about, and sure enough there was an infection. He performed a flu test which fortunately came back negative. They gave her a popsicle when she felt nauseated and that seemed to perk her up a bit, which was the liveliest she had been all day. We left with a prescription for an antibiotic and headed off to McDonald's to get her some chicken nuggets and a Sprite, the only food she had requested all day. She never ate a bite of her nuggets before she fell asleep in the car, again.

We did survive the evening, was able to get her fever down and some medicine in her. She headed off to bed feeling much better and woke again in the morning as if nothing had happened.

This might be the first fall I've not enjoyed, well there was last fall when I was on bed rest...that stunk, too. It is my favorite time of year...and I've missed it, again. Winter better be really good to make up for this crumby couple of months.

Where we've been

It's been 7 weeks since I last blogged. You may be wondering what have we been doing in the past 7 weeks. We've been sleep deprived, hacking, coughing, sneezing, with runny noses and bad moods for 7 weeks.

The baby and I got sick on September 13th and we've not been well since. I keep thinking I'm getting better then I get something else or it comes back around and I get another turn with it. I went to the Dr yesterday and he's put me on an inhaler (never used one of those before), another round of antibiotics, Claritin and more BP meds. I don't think I've ever turned in 4 prescriptions at the pharmacy at one time.

Hopefully we're on the road to recovery....just in time to get another bug.

Here is Chase's newest accomplishment

so much to do, so little time to blog

Well the summer flew by! We've been back to school for 2 months and have been traveling for most of September. We visited my parents in NC to help them pack up their house as they're moving. When we returned to MD, my dear, sweet husband and mother-in-law watched the older 3 kids while the baby and I flew to Chicago to spend 5 days with the Trents (friends who use to live in MD).

I'll try to give a quick note to things of interest:

• Connor has learned to play piano using both hands, at the same time!


• I've barely cooked the entire summer...we've eaten McDonald's WAY too much (I didn't say this was a list of good things to note, just things of note)


• Lillee and Isabel have started gymnastics


• Connor and Lillee start art classes in the morning. Lillee can't stop talkign about it. Art is her true passion!
  
• I put together the coolest Lego group for Connor, called Archimedes' Workshop. We, of course, build with Legos but we also discuss history, math and science as we study who Archimedes was and what he accomplished.


• The kids had a fun class at the nature center on turtles


• Chess Group was cancelled for lack of participation (I'm secretly happy about this as our schedule this semester is NUTSO, but I'm sad because Connor was really lookinng forward to it)


• Connor has memorized his multiplication facts 0-5!! He's not 100% on recall all the time, but pretty close....now we have to review addition and subtraction, again LOL


• Chase is racing to be my earliest walker, he's letting go when standing and cruising all over the place.


• I've decided I want to learn Spanish. I took two semester in college and know a bit of vocabulary and remember some conjugation, but I cannot speak it or understand it when heard.


• I splurged on a gadget...those things I always make fun of Al for having to have. I needed to get a new cell phone so I decided to find one with a good camera in as I'm always wanting to take pictures while I'm out, but I never have enough pocket space for phone, camera, snacks, wipes, etc. So I found a nice camera that just happens to be a phone! I've had so much fun with it.


• My raspberry bushes are fruiting like crazy and I'm loving it! A friend of ours gave us figs so I made yummy raspberry and fig jam.



• We have tomatoes coming out our ears! So I've been trying to get creative with tomatoes. I made a delicious roasted tomato soup, you can find the recipe here.

• We grew a 12ft sunflower!

I'm sure there is so much more that I'm not hitting on, but my memory seems to have faded with age and the more kid I have :>)

Thanks to my awesome husband for allowing me to stay home with my kids and funds to have such a great time with them....oh and that 5 days away from home with just the baby, well that was really cool! And how you make life fun, all the time!

The picture below was taken in a hotel room....we were driving home from my parents when the baby decided he didn't want to ride any more so he screamed and screamed and screamed. It was raining and I had not slept the night before so we decided to stop for the night. We found a hotel room and tried to find enough space for everyone to sleep. That evening was so difficult. The kids had pent up energy from being in the car all day, but with it raining outside and the room being so small there was nowhere to burn off that energy. Al and I were tired and just wanted to rest but the kids were having none of it. Everyone was hungry and we had no idea where to find food. It was a grumpy night all around.

The next morning, we were trying to get ready to get back on the road so there was a bit of hustle and bustle. But once our things were out of the room, Al gathered the blankets and covers and made a fort of the entire room. They played a game under the covers and had a grand ole time before climbing back into the van to hit the road.

I love that man!

The ant and the grasshopper

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER (not Aesop's version)

This one is a little different... Two Different Versions! Two Different Morals!

OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!


MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY:Be careful how you vote in 2010.

School has begun

In July, we began our second year of school and I'm learning so much! Now, if I could just get the kids doing the same :) I have some interesting challenges this year. Well, let me rephrase that....I have one challenge, Lillee. She introduces a whole bunch of challenges.



1. I am teaching 2 children instead of one.

2. Lillee learns differently than Connor.

3. Lillee's so enthusiastic and demands opportunities to learn.

4. Lillee thrives on anything artsy.



The dynamics of teaching 2 children really ramps up home schooling. And Isabel has even been asking to do school...WOW!!! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Fortunately, the baby has worked in a nap pattern that fits with schooling. We get up, have breakfast, do our chores and grooming, play and read books then the baby takes a nap. Then I can get the older kids started on school work. Isabel mostly just wants to play outside, which is perfect! However, Lillee needs a lot of assistance (and attention) so I have to get Connor started on an individual activity to work with Lillee. Then when I'm working with Connor I have to have patience to answer Lillee's 20 calls for help or to look at her work so she can receive praise.



I have one really big prayer for this school year, "God, grant me with patience!!!!" Well, I pray for that everyday. I'm sure he's answering my prayers and I can't imagine how bad I'd be without his daily support but could I get just a little bit more, please?



Lillee learns much differently than Connor so I am trying to figure out how to teach her when she's completely independent....well, she comes off as independent when she's swatting your hand away saying, "Mommy, I can do it." And within a few seconds you hear, "Mommy, how do you do it again?" OK, the prayer again.....GOD! Please grant me some patience.



Lillee does not miss an opportunity to learn. She loves to point out what Connor is learning and when does she get a turn. She's wanting to learn multiplication facts as Connor is doing his flashcards. I don't want to discourage her, but I need her to stop shouting out random numbers and confusing Connor. God love her....and maybe He will bestow a boat-load of patience upon me.



Lillee is VERY artsy. She loves art, she loves painting, coloring, drawing, play-doh, anything creative. I am exactly opposite. I have work at being creative and crafty. Lillee could spend all day coloring and painting and I NEVER think to do those things. Connor does not have the focus nor the talent to color, paint, etc. He still won't color anything, he scribbles a little color on the page and calls it done. Lillee colors each strand of hair, each detail has a color chosen for a special reason. Art is a passion for her! I love it, she's talented and enthusiastic about it. However, I do not know how to help her with technique and developing her talent. This time I have to ask God for wisdom of how to help her develop her specialty.



Aside from all that, we have a jam packed semester ahead of us. The girls are starting gymnastics, Connor has a chess club and I have put together a class called Archimedes' Workshop using Legos. 2-3 times a month we'll host a class at our house where I'll teach some history on Archimedes, his inventions and mathematical findings as well as some simple machines and Lego building. We also have some fun star gazer and turtle workshops at our local nature center and a couple of classes at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore.



Connor just finished an environmental education camp at Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge and had such a great time! His favorite game was called camouflage. Each kid would hide in tall grass and pretend to be a mouse camouflaging itself from the eagle. If they were found, they had to leave the field and became eagle poop :^D Connor's super cute camp director made a very nice digital scrapbook for the parents.



This should be a fun an exciting semester! I'm grateful to my Heavenly father for His guidance and support as we take on this adventure for a second year. I have days that I think, "Maybe the kids wouldn't be so bad off in public school." Then I remember Heavenly Father called me to do this for my children and I need to put all I can into their education even if it does take up every waking minute of my day. What a wonderful opportunity I've been given, I honestly pray that each day I will be reminded of this and enjoy this time I have with my children. And I would not begrudge any prayers you want ed to make on my behalf :)