Homeschooling

Yes, we homeschool. Sometimes when I tell people this, I get strange looks. I've gotten questions and strange looks when I go grocery shopping in the middle of a weekday with my kids. Sometimes people say they don't know how I do it. Or why I do it. And believe me, there are days when I wonder why I do it. But honestly, I wouldn't change it for the world. And of course people almost always want to know about socialization.

So here's a look at our homeschooling life. I love being able to see my children learn new things.

I have some really great friends who homeschool also, and we got together regularly last year for fun, and this year we decided to do science and art together. We get together once a week, and make a day of it.

Here are my kids on their first day:

After they spent the morning learning about clouds, they went outside for a cloud story, and to paint their own clouds:

And of course clouds bring precipitation, so they each got a turn at being a meteorologist. There were some seriously crazy storms in the forecast that day:

And there's always a fun science experiment going on:

Or a cool art project:

And of course all of that hard work makes them hungry. So we have lunch together:








































And what else would come after lunch besides recess??

And of course Isabella and Vanessa have some fun of their own:

So there you have it. It's sometimes wild and crazy, but I love it!

911

I taught the kids this week how to call 911 in case there's an emergency. I mainly showed Marcus, but Micah listened as well, and Isabella pretty much had no idea what I was talking about. Well, I just found Micah hiding under the piano bench with my phone. Usually if one of the kids find my phone, they call their daddy's phone and talk to him. But this time, Micah called 911, and he was whispering to them "Come arrest Jackson!" So yeah, we had to have a talk about how 911 is only for emergencies.

Update

Micah's blood work results were great. Everything was normal, except for the lead test... we're still waiting on those results. Praise God! I feel much better. They also called in the referrals, so he has the appointment with the Pediatric Surgeons next Thursday. We still have to wait on someone from Cincinnati Children's to call us to make an appointment though.

So last night, Micah was laying beside me and asked if he could make cookies all by himself. It was late, so I told him we could make some tomorrow. He said he wanted to make them all by himself with no help... except I could read the 'gredients to him.

So today he made cookies =)

Micah's Appointment

Today was Micah's doctor's appointment. We had to be there at 11:15, so we got up, ate breakfast, and did a few things around the house before it was time to go. We actually made it there a few minutes after 11, and the kids played while we waited.

So, when we saw the doctor, I told her all of my concerns. I told her that Micah had been eating paper, and that I found a crayon under his pillow that looked like he'd chewed it up & spit it out. I also told her that he constantly bites his nails. And when they're too short to bite, he bites his toenails.

She asked if he eats dirt (no) and if he eats ice (yes). If that child has a drink with ice in it, he's munching on the ice as soon as the drink is gone. So she said it sounds like he may be anemic. So she decided we needed to go to Children's Medical Center to have bloodwork done, and to have an x-ray to make sure any paper or anything else he may have eaten wasn't still in his stomach.

So by 12:15 we left, and were supposed to go straight to Children's. But the kids were starving, so we stopped at Wendy's first. When we got to CMC, we parked and headed to Radiology. Micah had his x-ray, and we had to wait for the results. After about 25 minutes, a nurse came out and handed me the phone so I could talk to our doctor.

She said that there was no paper or anything in his stomach, but that they saw something else that they weren't looking for, and it looked like it may be a calcium deposit. So now they wanted to do an upright x-ray to get a better look. So we waited for our doctor to fax over the order so that they could do another x-ray.

Another half-hour later, the doctor was on the phone again, and said the test was negative. There was nothing to worry about, but to go ahead & head to the lab to have the bloodwork done, and then head home.

So we walked down the hall to the lab, and waited 20 minutes to be called back. I had already told Micah what was going to happen, but I didn't know how he would react. He did awesome. He had to sit on my lap so I could hold him still, but he didn't move at all, and didn't cry at all either.

Then we were finally done. The kids all got stickers, and we headed back to the parking garage to go home. We finally made it home about 3:15. Micah fell asleep on the way home, and took about a 2 and a half hour nap.

So now we wait for the blood test results. I'm not at all good at waiting, so I'm sure I'll be calling early tomorrow morning.

While we were at the doctor, she also noticed the cyst on Micah's neck. We've had it looked at before, but they weren't too worried about it. But now she wants to refer him to the pediatric surgeon to see if it should be removed.

I also talked to her about some other things, and she wants to have Micah evaluated by the Pediatric Neurology Specialists at Cincinnati Children's.

So what I thought would be a somewhat simple trip to the doctor turned into an all day event. I just pray that everything turns out okay.

To Do

Oh the list of "Things To Do"!! It seems never ending! I can't wait until it's all finished, and everything is crossed off the list. Does that ever really happen?

1. Build Playhouse for kids
2. Paint Playhouse
   
3. Clean out shed
4. Fix shed
5. Mow grass,
6. Dig holes for fence
7. Set posts
8. Finish fence
9. Fix downstairs shower
10. Put new grill together
11. Order pictures to put in new frames
12. Put up Gazebo
13. Plant flowers
14. Stain Picnic table
15. Put new lamp together
16. Hook up new DVD/VCR
17. Give boys a haircut
18. Set up pool
19. Get new design team kit from Simply Scrapbooks
20. Doctor's appointment, me - 4/16, Micah - 4/23

That should get me started!! =P

Pajamas

So I have a great friend, Kelly, and I swear we're a lot alike. A few weeks ago, I saw a shirt while I was out shopping, and I knew she'd been wanting one similar, so I took a picture of it with my phone to send to her. When I sent it, she responded that she'd recently bought that exact shirt!! =)

So tonight, I was reading her blog , and saw a really cute picture of her 3 boys in their matching pajamas. Funny thing... I recently bought my 3 kids the exact same pajamas!! And, I even took pictures of them wearing them also. So I was inspired to post this.

Her picture is much cuter though. Apparently my kids don't know how to smile... and Isabella's head looks like it's on sideways, lol.




I also bought these jammies because they were so cheap. As soon as Marcus saw them, he said "Prison Pants? I am not wearing prison Pants!" I have no idea how the boy even knew anything about "prison pants".





Then when Keith saw them, he said they looked like the Hamburglar. So the kids were running around yelling " Robble Robble".




Then my Mom said Isabella looked like Pippi Longstocking.


They really like them though!! =)

Teeth

Here's Micah, and here's a story about what he did today.

(I'm copying this from an e-mail I wrote to some friends so I don't have to re-type it.)

I'm trying to get some cleaning done, and Micah comes up to me, and smiles really big. Then I looked a little closer, and I see that there is a dime in his mouth. He is always putting things in his mouth, and it drives me crazy.

So I put my fingers in his mouth and try to get the dime out, only when I pull on it, it doesn't come out. So then I realized it was stuck. Yep, he had bitten down on it, and it went between two of his teeth, and got stuck there. And it wasn't coming out.

So I did what any scrapbooking mother would do. I made him stand there while I went to get the camera to take pictures =P Then I tried to get it out again, and still no luck.

So I called my Mom to see if she could come and sit with the other two while I took Micah somewhere to get it out. I'm wondering where I would go - doctor? dentist? straight to Childrens? lol

Then I decided to try one more time. I made him lay down & I had to push the dime up into his gums & pull it out at the same time, but it came out! Woohoo!!

The day can only get better, right?

For Mandy =)

I haven't blogged in FOREVER, so just ignore the old stuff, lol. Anyway, I figured this might be easier for you. Here we go:

You can click on the pics to make them bigger.


Here's one of the kids at the table. They asked how many kids we had, and then set up this smaller table for the kids. At the very left of this pic, you can see the corner of the counter where the coffee maker is.















Here is a picture of the bar area, the sink is behind there, as well as cabinets/shelves to put stuff.















Here is a picture looking into the playland area. Bar is to the right, kids table/coffee area to the left.















Another:















And I have to show this one: (it's too cute!!)
















So anyway, I hope that helped a little. Like I said, they aren't the greatest pictures for checking out the place, but you can kinda get an idea. Talk to you guys soon!! =)

I haven't blogged in forever, so I felt like blogging today. Today was a good day. I woke up, and hung out with the kids & cleaned in the morning. Then I got them ready to go to school. After I dropped the boys off at school, my friend Tara and I walked. We walk for about an hour every day, and I feel so great afterwards. It goes by so much quicker when you're talking to someone!
Then Isasbella and I went to see my mom at work so I could take some pictures of the new baby ducklings. They are SO cute, aren't they?!? They're only a few days old.

Then I picked up the boys, and talked to Austin's mom, Ashley for a while. Marcus and Austin are excited because they are both supposed to go to the same school for Kindergarten.
I told Ashley that Marcus is always asking me what our phone number is, or how to get to our house so that he can tell Austin so that Austin can come over. She said that Austin does the same thing all the time. So we decided to exchange numbers, and hang out over the summer. She has 3 kids, the same ages as mine, so that should work out good! I can't believe that preschool is over in about 2 weeks! It's amazing how time goes by so quickly!! Before I know it, they'll be graduating from High School!
So, now I'm enjoying a yummy jamocha shake, and I'm thinking I'll go scrapbook. Have a great evening!

We went out to eat last week at Applebees. It was fun, the food was good. During dinner, Marcus took turns telling jokes with my mom and Marcie. It was pretty funny. But what happened on the way home was even funnier.

All 3 of the kids were buckled in their seats, and Keith was driving. Micah had an accident (peed in his underwear), and he told me "MOM, Bella just peed in my underwear!" It was so funny. Typical brother, trying to blame it on his little sister so he didn't get in trouble! :)