Bloom where you've been planted

Life has been busy recently. Lots of meetings, camps, cleaning, you know. We also had a round of sickness too. It appears everyone is healthy (fingers crossed it stays that way) and things have slowed down.
I was having problems with my pumpkins AGAIN. WTF?!? This time they had this strange white, powdery residue on the leaves. After convincing myself that they were diseased and I was going to have to rip them all up, I did a quick google search and it seems that it is just a fungus which could be remedied with spray (ew, no thanks. I like things chemical free and well, free) so I opted to take off the infected leaves and water less often. Which is hard for me, the watering part. Watering the plants is one of my favorite times of day. It is the one time in the day I can admire my plants without the kids and husband thinking I am strange and obsessed with my plants. I am also going to try a water/milk mixture (one half water and one half milk). I have read that if you spray this mixture onto the affected areas during the day it will help fight off the fungus. The kids and I did this after lunch and I'm pretty sure they thought I lost my marbles when I asked them to spray the plants with milk.Hopefully, laying off the watering and hosing my somewhat naked pumpkin plants with milk with help.
My tomatoes are starting to turn red. I love being able to pluck a tomato off the plant, warm from the sun and just popping it into my mouth. Homegrown tomatoes (really homegrown anything) tastes so much better than store bought. My goal for next year is to grow a crap ton of tomatoes so that I can can them all and not need to buy any canned tomato products. One day (oh yes, it will happen!) all my canned, frozen, dried, etc products will come from my own backyard. I really want to have a go and growing wheat. I need my farm!
I started a new crafting project (actually it is two). I am making a farm quilt for Monster for his birthday (he is having a farm themed party) and another quilt with the boy's baby clothes. My plan is to do the baby clothes quilt all by hand :0 I think I am overly ambitious...

Bleach alternative

Our family has given up bleach. At first it was just because I kept forgetting to buy it and then I realized that I don't really want that harsh chemical around me or my boys. We have been bleach free for a month or two now and my counters (white tiles...who the hell puts white tile counters in the kitchen!?) and our white comforter were looking a little....dingy.
I did a quick google search for bleach alternatives and found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for (yay!). While it is not as amazing as bleach, it works pretty damn well! My blanket is white again and my counters for about 5 seconds looked clean.

Bleach alternative
12 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup hydrogen peroxide
Miix it all up. Add 2 cups per wash load (I just released I only used one. Maybe this is the reason there are still a few stains...). Pourin spray bottle and use as a household cleaner.

Take a deep breathe (and a giant chug of beer)

Today has been one of those days. You know the ones? It was the kind that had me questioning my sanity and my decision to stay at home. What the F was I thinking? The kids have been at each others necks all day, Monster is being himself, and I'm about ready to pass out from lack of sleep and being a single stay at home parent of three kids for the last 5 days. What the F was I thinking?!?
Really though, it is like that saying, " a bad day at the beach is better than a good day at work,". In reality, a bad day at home is better than a good day at work because I get to experience that bad day with my kids. And that is what is really important: family (even when they are at their worst).

Tale of the day

The sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds so I took my heavy basket of wet clothes outside to hang. I hear Monster inside the house saying, "uh-oh, uh-oh," over and over again. It gets louder as he gets closer to me. When he reaches me, he hands me a poop filled diaper, says, "all done," and runs away. I did what any great mama would do. I chased him around the backyard with the hose.

My greatest teachers are my sufferings

I have a new motto. Well, not so much a motto, I guess. But a saying I have to help me get through the day. Ready for it? You might want to sit down. It's pretty epic.
Find Enjoyment In Every Moment
I say this in my head when all three kids are having a meltdown, when I have to do something I don't like, when yet another zucchini or pumpkin bites the dust. I might be hard but you can probably find something you enjoy in every moment. Try it next time it seems like everything is going downhill. It might help turn your sour attitude around.

It's August?!

Muffins are in the oven, bread machine is humming away and my coffee is drip, drip, dripping into the carafe as we speak. It is barely 6am. Already, I can hear the boys moving around upstairs and I know any minute they are going to come barreling downstairs wanting to watch their TV time. I'm not sure waking up at 5:30 is early enough. I haven't even watered the garden yet.
Husband leaves today for a business trip. He will be gone until Sunday. I am very tempted to go to the grocery store, buy a GIANT box of chicken nuggets and take a vacation from my baking/cooking responsibilities. I'm pretty sure I would end up guilting myself out of it though. We shall see. We have to go to the grocery store today as supplies are reaching a dangerous low.
So I have been working on letting go of the need to always have a clean and tidy house. I knew that between the garden, cooking things from scratch, taking care of the boys, etc that something was going to have to give. My house is clean but for some reason if my house looks "lived in" my anxiety level starts to rise. My kitchen right now almost gives me a panic attack every time I go into it. Which is often. My kitchen is small... Really small. Between all of my cooking projects, dishes drying on the counter, leftover kid snacks it looks like a bomb went off. And if I do take the time to do a big clean it only lasts for 20 minutes (if I am lucky). Just let it go, amelia, let it go....
I worked yesterday with the boys on their goals for the month. Each month the boys (with help) identify three thing they want to work on. Each week, depending on how well they did get a reward. If they meet one of their goals they are gold, meet two of their goals they are silver, meet all their goals they are platinum. So potentially they can get a reward every Sunday for doing a good job during the week.
Bean's goals
1. No tantrums
2. Follow directions the first time
3. Be a good friend/brother

Screech's goals
1. Take responsibility for choices
2. Focus on self (no parenting others)
3. No tantrums

Rewards
Gold: 30 minutes extra tv/game time
Silver: playtime at park with daddy
Platinum: movie at theatre OR pick out new hot wheels car at store

Don't do, be

I drank the last bit of coffee I had Friday morning. Yesterday was my first day caffeine free. I woke up feeling fine, no headache all morning. Then around 1pm, my body had enough. I don't know if it was giving me the benefit of the doubt, maybe I was just going to fuel it's addiction later in the day but by 1pm it realized my intentions and it fought back. It felt like an ice pick was being stabbed right behind my eyes. Stab, stab, stab. Of course, we were spending the afternoon at a birthday party. A four year old's birthday party. Not the best place to have an ice pick stabbing headache. A small nap, and a few tylenol's later the headache was gone...for a little while. I woke up with the headache this morning. Not such a pleasant way to wake up. So I'm sitting in my living room, sipping mint tea with mint I picked from my garden and dried in my kitchen (go me!), praying that the Tylenol will kick in soon as screech is going to demand spongebob soon and I'm pretty sure I will chop my head off if I have to listen to that f'ing sponge while my body is trying to peer pressure me back to caffeine. I will not surrender! F'ing sponge, grumble, grumble, grumble
I harvested my first zucchini Friday afternoon. I used it on my pizza. Friday night, pizza night never tasted so good. I love when I can use my own homegrown veggies in the kitchen. I love knowing that I tending that zucchini, gave it love, care, water, and obsessed over it. Food just tastes better when it comes from your garden and you have made it from scratch. My ultimate dream is to make a meal with everything I have grown/prepared myself.
Husband has been complaining about the lack of sourdough in this house. He likes to point out that I had promised him sourdough years ago and have yet to deliver. My last attempt at sourdough was an epic fail but I think it is time attempt it again. I'm afraid husband will revolt. So later today (or maybe tomorrow...) I will begin the sourdough start! Wish me luck, friends.

Today's words of wisdom

"The idea is not to live better, but to live well: friends, family, healthy body, fresh air and water, enough food and peace" William Powers

Let your brain digest that...

Hanging the laundry is zen

The kids are either napping or playing quietly in their rooms. This is my one hour a day I have to myself. Though normally at this time, I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to accomplish as many different tasks as possible before my hour is up. Even now, I have a list of things zooming through my head that need to be done (prep dinner, clean the floors, email screech's caseworker, find screech a dentist that takes his insurance, and on, and on, and on).
This morning I made another batch of the most fantastic blueberry muffins ever. I am pretty much convinced that this muffin recipe would make the most fantastic any type fruit muffins. I used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/detail.aspx and only made a few changes. I used frozen blueberries because I had already processed all our fresh ones, I put a splash of vanilla, and used brown sugar for the topping instead of white. AMAZING. My family has been very happy chomping on these the last two days.

Today felt like a good arts and crafts sort of day so I rummaged through our school closet and found some great things to get crafty with. I love putting out random things and letting the kids go crazy. It's fascinating watching where their minds will take them. Monster and Bean wanted to make robots so we used toilet paper rolls and some straws to make them.
I used some toilet paper rolls, dixie cups, cardboard, and glue to start the awesomeness that will eventually turn into a castle with working drawbridge. It is going to be epic.
Before this crafting went down screech's caseworker from the agency he is with came over to check in with him and me. She is happy with how he is doing and thinks that after being here a month (can you believe it has already been a month?!)his behavior will probably stay about the same. She thinks the behavior stuff we have witnessed is about as bad as it is going to get. WooHoo! Hopefully she is right. I need to contact the school he will be attending to get him enrolled. I can't believe it is already time to start thinking about school. The summer is flying.
Alright faithful readers, I have ignored my duties long enough. Hopefully I will see you tomorrow!

I wear a skirt and flip flops to mow the yard

At the moment all is quiet. Monster is outside terrorizing slugs and the sandbox, Bean is playing with his matchbox cars, sorting out race cars, and screech is using some of his game time. Ahhhh, peace. No arguing, screams of joy (though normally it's screams of, "no, Monster! Stop!"), or billions of questions. This peace won't last long....
Things are still going wonderfully in our world. Screech is still doing well here. No behaviors we can't handle and in all honesty, they are all age appropriate behaviors (getting upset at times when he doesn't like a direction, etc). I keep reminding myself the honeymoon isn't over yet but as the days past I am finding myself wondering if, by the grace of God, we got the most well behaved kid in need of therapeutic foster care. The few instances of inappropriate touch were quickly handled with safety concern (playing with books or puzzles by himself for an hour) and he is very motivated to stay off safety concern. He loves having tv/game time so he tries very hard to earn his poker chips. Kid also LOVES earning chore money. It's awesome! My chore load is decreased. It's a beautiful thing when someone else actually wants to clean all the toilets in the house :)

5 hours later...
It's like Monster has a special sensor that goes off whenever I am taking a few minutes for myself and he has to come wreck havoc on whatever I am doing *shakes head*. He is a different breed.
Anyway, I had to transplant a zucchini plant a couple days ago. One vegetable bed is packed to the extreme. It looks like a jungle.
Husband convinced my that it was for the greater good to remove one as they weren't doing as well as they could. So with a heavy heart, I dug one up. There was a sickening SNAP as I gently tried to remove it from it's home. All day yesterday I was convinced that it was a goner. It was droopy and sad but lots of water, some reassuring words, and a good night sleep seemed to do the trick. It is looking much happier and healthier today. Praise the lord! Hopefully it will stay that way :)
Notice how well the strawberries are doing. I'm excited about those. Also notice the random pumpkin that started sprouting too.
So I have learned a great deal about gardening this summer. The number one thing being don't grow all your squashy viney plants in the same bed. They take up way to much space to live happily together. And really, a family of five does not require 4-5 pumpkin plants. It's kinda overkill.
On a completely different note, I have created an outstanding bread recipe in the last week or so. We eat it up supe quick. I feel like I am making a new loaf every other day. It is so light, fluffy, and tasty.
Here is the recipe:
One cup milk
Two tablespoons butter
Two tablespoons sugar
One and a half teaspoons salt
Two cups all purpose flour
One cup whole wheat flour
Two and one fourth teaspoon yeast
Put in bread machine according to manufacturers directions. Let machine to the mixing. My bread machine takes about 30 minutes to mix and knead everything. Grease bread pan, put dough onto bread pan after the machine is done doing the dirty work. Let rise in a warm spot for an hour or so. Preheat oven to 350. After bread is done rising, brush melted butter on the top and bake for about 30 minutes.
Sweet bread perfection... Enjoy!

First sip of coffee

There is nothing quiet like that first sip of coffee in the morning. For some reason it just taste better than the rest of the sips I take throughout the day. The creamy/bitter warmth just does something for me. The sleep just seems to melt away from my eyes with that first jolt of caffeine. So it is with a heavy heart that I have decided to stop drinking caffeine (after my giant Costco bag of espresso roast is gone, that is). I had told myself I wasn't going to go back to my caffeine drinking ways after Monster was born and I did awesome the first year and then very slowley it started creeping back into my life. Now I feel all out of whack if I don't drink it in the morning and by 2pm I need a nap. No es bueno...
Pumpkin update! I know that you all were sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about the pumpkins. I think I fixed the problem. So in my infinite wisdom, I put weed blocker under the pumpkin vines in hopes that the slugs would be out off by it and not climb all over the vines, causing mass destruction in their wake. This made it impossible for the pumpkin vine to lay down roots, causing the plant not to get enough off all the good stuff from the soil. Go Farmer Me! After removing the weed block a few days ago, the pumpkin plants are looking beautiful and no more baby pumpkins have been lost. Fingers crossed that we don't lose anymore (though I believe I just spotted a pumpkin plant sprouting over by the strawberries. So that makes our pumpkin plant total at 4. We have a freaking pumpkin patch our backyard).
All three kids are doing well. Screech is letting us see some of his issues, which is great! That means he is comfortable here and trusts that we are safe. I have been looking forward to when we could start making progress with his issues :)
I have Bean and Screech on an incentive plan that seem to enjoy. For every hour that they do well (respectful, follow directions, appropriate boundaries, etc) They earn a poker chip worth one extra minute of tv/game time. They can also earn extra chips by being extra awesome. Bean has something crazy like 34 chips!
All three boys just came tumbling down the stairs, interrupting my quiet with demands for milk and power rangers "acting" on the tv. My morning quiet time is never long enough. It seems these creatures can sense when I wake up and then get up shortly afterword, ruining my morning plans. Sneaky creatures...

It's raining, it's pouring

What the hell? Rain in July? And not a summer sprinkle rain, mind you. Full on autumn rain. The last two days, I have woken up excited, like it is Christmas morning, to go check the progress of my garden and to water it. Well, when it's raining, there is no need to go out and water. Yes, I could just go out and check their progress but it is not the same. It's passive. I enjoy getting my hands dirty first thing. (Also, it's the one time during the day I have an excuse to admire my garden without being creepy. Seriously, I check in it like 5 times a day. I have issues.)
So something funky is going down with my pumpkins. The little green pumpkin is starting to rot before the giant beautiful flower falls off :/ I spent all afternoon yesterday obsessing and researching this. It could be lack of pollination ( possible but I see bees over by them all the time but it's possible they are more interested in the clover taking over the grass), the weather, over crowding ( I did pack them close), and natural selection (my pumpkins could be killing off the weaker ones to make room for an epically awesome pumpkin). I need to investigate the problem further to pinpoint the exact problem. Yep, I just gave myself permission to stalk my garden even more. Oh snap!
Life on the home front is still going strong. About three weeks ago we became a family of five. We added an 8 year old boy to our crew. Let's call him screech. Screech was living in a home in Washington that was going to adopt him but then changed their minds when they realized kids in the system have issues. Way to f-up this kid even more, Washington family. I'm a little bitter about this situation. Too often people easily give up on kids, making their issues worse. Grrr...
Anyway, homemade waffles and fresh strawberry syrup are calling my name. I promise to come back soon. If you are lucky, I might stop by tomorrow morning. I'll bring the coffee.

More cowbell

It's 8:45 in the morning and I'm drinking my third (I think it's my third) cup of coffee. Monster is getting creative with crayons. Well he was, now he is sitting on the table naked from the waist down and drinking some old water from a cup. Bean is watching Voltron for his TV time though I really pushed for He-Man. Life is good.
I rearranged the house, yet again. I think I rearrange it every six months at least. All the toys are upstairs now. Hallelujah! So far it has worked out alright. We go upstairs to get what we want to play with and return it when we are done. I just love not having toys in every room of the house.
Ok, so I have a confession. Not an earth shattering confession. Not a juicy gossipy confession either. Since I was about 17-18 years old, I really just wanted to be a stay-at-home/wife. I didn't really want to go to school, become something important, "make something of my life". I just wanted to take care of a family. This goes against what I was taught growing up. I was taught that you go to college, have a career, get married, make babies, return to work. I guess I was always interested in doing things different as I got knocked up before I even finished the college thing...
People being naturally curious always ask what I do for a living and after I tell them I'm "just a mama" 9 out of 10 times there is an awkward pause while they are thinking of something to say. Why does it seem so outrageous that I want to be home with my kid? You should see their faces when I tell them we are going to homeschool and move to the country :0 Maybe I should just start telling people I am the vice president of a very important not-for-profit organization. That is basically the truth right?

Enjoying a quiet moment

Bean left Thursday for his first ever east coast vacation. He hasn't wanted to talk to me yet so apparently he is having fun. Monster spend last night at Nana's house so husband and I enjoyed a night out on the town. Probably the last we will have for a while as we will (hopefully) get a placement soon. It's amazing how little time one spends with their significant other. Work, kids, life, always make it hard to connect with husband and it is always nice when all that can go away for just a few hours and all my attention can focus on him.

It is hard to believe that we have been together almost 10.5 years. The craziest part is I still am head over heels in love with the guy. I actually think I love him more now than I did a few years ago. Well, maybe not more but it has changed. Our love is not new and exciting anymore. It is like that old quilt you have that your great great great grandmother hand made. Its worn in places but still beautiful and so damn comfortable. You know every piece of fabric, every design on it. It's the blanket you sleep with every night, the blanket you go to when you need a little extra comfort. Ok, so this is not the most glamorous comparison but...it fits.

Our love has evolved and changed as we have evolved as changed as individuals and a family. That is the key to a successful partnership (I think at least). The ability to adapt/evolve/change/grow with your partner. It hasn't been easy. Every relationship goes through growing pains. There were plenty of times that I wasn't sure we would pull through but we did. That is pretty amazing when you think about. Husband was 17 and I was 15 when we started dating. You changed a hell of a lot when you are that age. Yet, somehow, we managed to make it through the teenage years, the college years, and now these years together. And you know what? Every year gets better....

Summer is approaching

Holy crap! There has been sun the last few days and I think my body is about ready to explode from vitamin D. The boys and I have been spending almost every available second enjoying the outdoors. These weather is making my crave a whole lotta land out in the country. I CANNOT wait until we can move out of suburbia and enjoy our own slice of acreage heaven. (Just another year, just another year, just another year, Dear God, just another year PLEASE!). All in all though, it will be a little bittersweet moving out of this neighborhood. We have make some great friends and I love that there are kids for my kids to play with. But darn it, I want goats, and chickens, and a huge garden and I want my boys to have room to roam and get messy. OH! I want a mini-pony and a piggie too :)

Before the boys come charging down the stairs ( I can hear them waking up now), I should give a quick update. Monster has weaned himself :( and! he no longer sleeps in the crib. I have taken it down and am preparing myself to post it on craigslist. They grow up so darn fast. Luckily, I have surrounded myself with fertile lady friends and I have an abundance of babies to pick from when I need a little baby time (this sounds slightly creepy. Sorry!).

Bean is still a giant. He is like those really big dogs that thinks they are lap dog size. He jumps around on you, thinking he weights A LOT less than he does. I have the bruises to prove it. His love of dinosaurs is starting to wean. He is into power rangers, super heros, etc. Normal boy stuff. He has this invisible friend named, Loker. He never plays with Loker (at least they never play when I am around) but has these great stories about what he and Loker do together. Its truly fascinating. Loker is the same color as Bean but his momma and daddy are brown. Loker is sometimes 5, sometimes 13.

This weekend, we had our first foster kid after a 4 year break. and a teenager at that. 13 year old boy. We survived! They eat a lot. A LOT. 13 is a strange age. 13 year olds are still kids but wanting, yearning to be treated like older teenagers. Not sure I am ready for all that drama. He did a great job and I think he really liked sword fighting with the boys, especially Brandon. Kids really like husband. Its one of my favorite qualities about husband.

This week, Bean leaves for a week long vacation on the east coast with Aunt Susie. He is very excited and has been counting down the days for a while now. I remember when I was younger and got to vacation at Aunt Susie's house. I can't believe that it is already Bean's turn to do this. She always planned the best activities. My whole family is truly blessed to have an Aunt Susie in our lives. Really, every family would benefit from having an Aunt Susie.

Unschooling

So, I know I said I was against unschooling. I had the standard, "the kids are never going to want to learning anything. They are only going to sit around and watch tv. Blah, blah, blah.". Well, I decided to do some research into unschooling because one should have a stance against something until they fully understand an issue.

I've read a few books (God bless John Holt) and visited some websites and email groups and I am hooked. The idea behind unschooling is fantastic! Children will retain information far better if they are passionate and interested in the subject. Lets be honest with each other for a minute, can you really remember the stuff you learned in the 12+ years of school? Do you remember all the dates of wars, presidents, geometry, etc? After spending 6-8 hours a day, five days a week, for 12 years in school, how much of that stuff did you retain? Were you actually interested in learning about it? Or were you just going through the motions (at least most of the time) because that is what you were supposed to do?

I love learning. I enjoyed school but I struggled in a lot of subjects because I was bored. I didn't like reading a book because that was the book we were studying. The beauty with unschooling is that you and your child can run with their interests and cover all the basis around that subject. For example, lets do dinosaurs because our house as been dino-obsessed for months now. Obviously, you cover science, math (measure dinosaurs, fossil discovery, timeline, etc), language arts (write dinosaur stories, read dino books), thematic play for younger children, history (duh), art, etc. When you approach school this way, it is absolutely insane how much your child retains. Bean is a budding paleontologist. Give him a pictures of a dinosaur and chances are he will know its name, what it ate, and quite possibly the period it lived.

John Holt is the founding father of the unschool movement. I'm reading "How Children Fail" and this quote from him really stuck out:

"Children in school are like children at the doctor's. He can talk himself blue in the face about how much good his medicine is going to do them; all they think of is how much it will hurt or how bad it will taste. Given their own way, they would have none of it.

So the valiant and resolute band of travelers I thought I was leading toward a much -hoped-for destination turned out instead to be more like convicts in a chain gang, forced under threat of punishment to move along a rough path leading nobody knew where and down which they could see hardly more than a few steps ahead. School feels like this to children: it is a place where THEY make you go and where THEY tell you to do things ans where THEY try to make your like unpleasant if you don't do them or don't do them right."

We are a big book family. We head to the library at least once a week. I'm always reading 2+ books at a time. We stumbled across a fantastic series of of short chapter books called Dinosaur Cove. We have been rocketing through them at lightning speed. Bean loves them, of course (boy loves himself some dinosaurs). I love that when we finish a chapter, he begs me to read more. It is a thing of beauty! Monster is the same way with the books he likes. Every week, one book we get always stands out for him (this week is Ten Little Fish). After we finish reading, he says, "More?". I just can't resist. We will read that book 5 times in a row :)

This week I did two new things. I made a sourdough start (I am currently trying to make it into the "sponge" now so I can make bread later) and yogurt (not in the crockpot.) Crockpot yogurt didn't get very thick and I was curious if it would thicken using a different method. It did. It's quite thick and creamy and beautiful. Go me!

Ok, Monster is awake now so I shall sign off until another time...

Saturday Morning Hike

Husband and I decided to pack up the boys and go for a hike yesterday. We brought the magnifying glass so we could take a closer look at any fun things we found along the way. Bean enjoyed pointing out evergreen trees and deciduous trees (its damn cute hearing him say "deciduous"). Everyone did amazingly well. Monster was happy in the baby prison until the last 1/4 mile. I then made the mistake of freeing him, thinking (I'm not sure why I would think this) he would happily follow us back to the car. Needless to say, we made it back to the car but I was holding a screaming 18 month old. Husband and I are looking forward to another Saturday hike next week :) Hopefully the kids are too because I think our new Saturday routine is going to include hiking.

I am loving that spring is right around the corner (right, Spring?! I can't take anymore winter). I enjoy that I can hear the birds in the morning while I drink my coffee and read my book (yes, another book about homeschool. I'm an addict) before the kids get up. I cannot wait until the kids and I are able to spend the majority of the day playing outside (I am very much looking forward to my sweet tan!).

My wonderful mother-in-law is watching the boys for us today so Husband and I rearrange the house and get it ready for the home-study and safety check we have for our foster parent certification this Friday. We our moving our bedroom downstairs to the master bedroom (So long playroom). On the plus side, we will finally have our own bathroom that we won't have to share with the kids. SCORE! I'm so ready to be done with this house. We originally planned on living here for a year, two years tops. We have been here almost 4 years. Yuck! Hopefully, we only have another year (oh please, oh please, oh please) until we can pack up and go.

Pippi Longstocking

While the kids are in the bath, I like to read a book while supervising that they don't kill each other. The other day Bean asked me to read out loud my book. As my book was about unschooling and not what he would find interesting, I started to read a chapter from Pippi Longstocking. He was hooked. He asked me to read it to him during bathtime, lunchtime, and before bed. I was amazed how much information he retained.

Once he asked where all the pictures were and I explained to him that this was a big big boy book and there wasn't a lot of pictures so we had to make the pictures in our heads. Bean found this concept entertaining and would screech happily, "I'm making a picture in my head, Mama! Whats yours look like?" when we were reading.

Yesterday we finished Pippi Longstocking and as a treat we watched Pippi Longstocking the movie. Bean was in heaven. This kid LOVES watching anything on the TV. I mean anything. If I have the news on, he will become a zombie and watch it.

As we had finished Pippi, we started reading the complete book of fairy tales by the brothers grimm. There are some fascinating stories in there! Once again, Bean surprised and impressed me. I really didn't think he was paying much attention to the stories in the bathtub as he was splashing around with Monster but in the car while talking to Husband about his day, he started to tell him about the fairy tales we read!

Monster is getting much better with words (thank goodness! He is getting increasingly frustrated by not being able to communicate his wants/needs). He loves to mimic sounds that Bean makes. They have a lot of fun copying each other. The other day I was telling Monster how we were going to visit Bubbie and Poppy soon and go on an airplane. He through his hands up into the air and started to make airplane sounds. Apparently he is very excited about going on an airplane. I, however, am not looking forward to going on an airplane trip with that kid. I'm pretty sure he has already written up plans on how to break into the cockpit and fly the plane. I apologize in advance to all passengers on our flight.

St. Patrick's Day

Yesterday we had a milestone. Sawyer got his first library card yesterday. He asked the librarian on his own if he could get one and they happily helped him get one. He was so proud of himself and he was able to check out the ridiculous amount of books we picked out with his library card. I'm not joking. We have an insane amount of library books. We probably have close to 100 things checked out from the library. We are book nerds.

Now a milestone for me :) I have been challenging myself to find new friends and meet new people to help myself get over my shyness. Today I am packing up the kids and carting them to Omsi to meet with a rad lady and her equally cool kids. We met through a homeschool group. Our kids are similar in age and have really hit it off. This is our second "mom date". I'm stoked. I love being a stay at home mom and I love spending every day with my kids but sometimes I need to remember what its like spending time with someone over the age of 4 that is not my husband (but who are we kidding, he acts 4 most the time).

I've decided to make a traditional Irish American dinner tonight. Corned beef and cabbage, mashed potatoes, and Irish Soda bread (the real thing, not the stuff with raisins and caraway seeds). I had a whole weeks worth of cool St. Patrick's day and Ireland activities to do with Bean but, of course, he wasn't interested. So I guess I will file it all away and hope in a few years Asher will find all my hard work and research fascinating ;) I mean really, what young kid doesn't want to learn about Ireland and St. Patrick's day?!

Update and library day

I have been a complete slacker. I have ignored you completely and I apologize. Almost everyday I think, I should blog about that and of course, life happens and it never gets done.

Let us do a quick recap and get everyone up to speed:

Bean is almost 4

Bean loves dinosaurs and can tell you amazing facts about them. He can identify and correctly name numerous types of dinosaurs.

Bean enjoys dictating stories for me to write in his journal

Monster is almost 18 months

He says more, water, Mama, Dada, no, up and is learning signs

His green blanket is his favorite thing in the world

Monster is fiercely independent yet a huge mama's boy

He is very opinionated

We are a few weeks away from becoming certified treatment foster parents

We are still homeschooling and plan on keep homeschooling

Husband is still working and loving his job

We bought a van (gag) and are actually starting to like it (double gag)

I'm sure there are so many more things I could mention but my mind is fuzzy this early in the morning despite being almost done with my cup of coffee. Sometimes I really wish I would allow myself to have two cups a day....

Today is library day. We do to the library at least once a week. This is an adventure that Bean really looks forward too. He likes to decide what types of books to get. He is finally comfortable walking up to the librarian and asking where he could find the books he wants. Monster spends his library time attempting to break out of his prison (stroller). Once he is finally freed he runs around like a crazy man, screeching, climbing, pulling books of the shelf, etc. He is a tornado of chaos.

As difficult as Monster makes this trip to the library (I am almost always sweating by the end of the trip from stress and the exercise of keeping up with Monster), I also look forward to library day. I love picking out my books (mostly home school books with a couple Sookie Stackhouse novels. What a guilty pleasure). Between all three of us, we bring home WAY to many books. It is just so hard to say no to a good looking book. I also don't want to deny the kids books. I love that they want to read and learn so why deny them a book they want? Luckily the car is never parked to far away because the book bag is pretty damn heavy by the time we leave.