school year in review

The end of April and the month of May are always crazy busy in this house.  This year was no different, and actually I think it was busier than usual.  We threw in a homeschool convention, an out of town trip, and a half marathon along with the usual set-in-stone events.

I'm always a bad May blogger, but I see that I threw April under the bus this year as well.  Easter in late April didn't help. :)  I'm typically not a great summer blogger, but I'm hoping to change my reputation at least for this summer.

We had our last day of school last Thursday, and I've been thinking about our school year a lot.  Last year, I ordered all of our curriculum as soon as school was completed, and it was nice to not have to think about it all summer.  I'm definitely doing that again while things are still fresh in my mind.

Overall, this was our best year yet in spite of parenting a tween and a toddler at the same time.  The unexplored territory of the tween years baffles me at times, but we're going to survive (sometimes just one hour at a time, though).  This toddler thing...I totally thought I had it down...and then potty training reminded me that I, indeed, know slim to none.

Claire
Claire was an excellent student this year other than a slight hiccup in December.  She took complete charge of her math and her language arts programs and did an outstanding job.

For some reason, she was struggling to complete her reading assignments on time during the month of December.  She assured us that she would catch up over Christmas break, but we all know how difficult it is to catch up when people are building snowmen, decorating for Christmas, and drinking hot cocoa.

We put her on a strict school/chore/free time (or lack thereof) schedule through the month of January, and that seemed to do the trick.  She had no other problems through the remainder of the year.

I'm continually impressed at Claire's self discipline.  She often wakes up long before everyone else so that she can get to work on her math assignments while it's still quiet in the house.  I know that her motivation is that she doesn't want to "miss out" on free time when everyone else has completed their work, but I would have struggled to discipline myself at that age.

What is most shocking is that we now have a 6th grader.  When did that happen?!  We're looking forward to the next stage of the journey. :)

Meredith
Meredith was also a great student this year.  She continues to excel at reading and can often be found lying on her bed with her nose in a book.  I think it calms her.

Math is a frustrating subject for her, but she did extremely well this year while learning all of her multiplication facts.  Certain facts were continually giving her fits, and we did our best to work through those.

I'm praying that her attitude will be a positive one for the upcoming school year as she will be transitioning from me teaching her math lessons on a daily basis to her using Dr. Shoreman's DVD for her daily instruction.  Sometimes she has a difficult time with change, and I think she's feeling some anxiety regarding this.  I know she'll do just fine once she gets a few weeks into the program.

Meredith is a very willing student and typically gets right to work without much prodding.  She works right through her subjects and doesn't get distracted easily.  This is a blessing, for sure!

Amelia
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Amelia this year.  She is so easily distracted and by far the wiggliest child in our home.  Despite my fears, she was a joy to teach.  Distracted?  Yes...but also easy to put back on task.  Wiggly.  Ummm...for sure.  But, thankfully, kindergarten doesn't require that you sit and listen for hours upon hours each day.

She was the easiest child, thus far, to teach how to read.  Claire was the most challenging, then Meredith, then Amelia.  I'm not sure if their personalities/learning abilities are playing into this, or if I'm just getting better at teaching it each year.  I'm sure the latter is true!  If Olivia is the easiest, we'll know it's my experience playing a huge part.  My patience was certainly better the 3rd time around.

Amelia loved math this year, and often requested that we do it first.  Her Explode the Code book was also enjoyable for her.

Olivia
Olivia did great this year as far as finding things to do to keep her busy.  I often gave her little activities to complete this year, but mostly she was just happy to sit next to someone and play legos, look at books, or color.  She has learned her colors, shapes, and numbers.  We've done nothing formal, so I can't take any credit for her knowledge.  I am continually impressed at how much kids learn just by watching and listening.

Last year at this time, she was very interested in potty training.  I thought it was great timing with summer break upon us, but she only wanted to potty in the toilet...no pooping.  This was not what I had envisioned when I began the potty training journey.  Have I mentioned that potty training is my least favorite part of parenting?  Because it is.

I cleaned disgusting messes all summer, and I gave it a rest in the fall thinking that she would come around.  We tried to start again a few different times.  No go.  Mess after mess after mess.  Seriously, a few weeks ago, Claire took her into the bathroom and told her that she couldn't get up until she pooped on the toilet.  She sat there for about 5 minutes and then pooped.  We all celebrated! :)

Of course, she's had an accident here or there, but she's been really successful during the last few weeks!  This is such a relief.  Everyone has been super encouraging to me, and you'll find me often saying things like, "She'll figure it out by the time she starts kindergarten."  But honestly, I was kind of doubting it on this one!  Thankfully, I think we've made it through the hard part.  And if for some reason we happen to have a surprise 5th baby...I'm turning potty training over to Claire. :)

Overall, it's been a truly enjoyable year to teach the girls.  They are such a blessing to our family and to others.  Even though they have their sisterly squabbles, I'm continually impressed at the way they love each other and truly enjoy being together.

Selfishly, I must admit that I'm looking forward to the next two years of having the same number of students to teach.  Middle school seems like a daunting task when I think about it too much, but we're just going to keep doing what we're doing and making changes where we see fit.  It seems to be working, thus far, so we're sticking to it.

I can't tell you how much I love summer break!  We're looking forward to park days, lake days, zoo days, and lazy days.  Hope all of you have a great summer as well!

Happy 11th Claire!

Today this girl turns 11. 

She remarked to me yesterday that her age no longer fits on her hands.  What I think this really means is that she's a big deal.  

As I was looking through photos this morning to choose one for this blog post, I struggled to find one that was of her alone and one that captured her personality.  I chose these two from our trip to Daytona Beach last fall.  

She's an "all in" kind of a personality.  She's not afraid to take charge, and I'm certain that she was managing the building of that sandcastle!  That's why she's in the middle...keeping tabs on the structure, making sure the spacing is correct, building the walls, etc.  

It has been a joy to watch her grow this year.  Little by little she's turning into this little young lady who continually enjoys people and business.  She was able to run a popcorn stand with some other students through a local entrepreneurial program, she ran her own snack station at my sister's garage sale, and she "helped" my mom serve hot dogs at a golf outing station just a couple of weeks ago.  By helped, I was told that she was managing the tent well. :)

Independent, disciplined, problem solver, driven.  She works smarter, not harder and struggles to take no for an answer.

When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday this year, she responded, "Well, I'd really like to make my own cake this year."  

If this is what 11 looks like, bring it on. :)  

At 11, she loves board games (Ticket to Ride is her favorite), riding her bike, being with friends, listening to adults discuss anything, swimming, golfing, reading mysteries, and baking.  She doesn't like folding laundry (really, who does?).

  

Happy 11th Birthday, Claire!  Hope you have a wonderful day.  We love being your parents, and we love watching you grow.  We can't wait to see what this year brings!  

amelia turns six

Guess who turned 6 last week?!!  She spent the day with Grandma doing some birthday shopping, and they also went to see Mr. Peabody and Sherman which they both enjoyed.  (On a side note, when Josh came home from work, Amelia excitedly announced that she and Grandma had watched Mr. Peabottoms!!  So funny.)

Her grandmas and grandpas gave her a book light, a tea set, sandals, a swimsuit, a watch, and nail polish. :)

Claire and Meredith gave her some play jewelry and playdoh.  

We gave her the new Tinkerbell movie (The Pirate Fairy) and a bicycle bell.  

Her 21-year-old friend, Nina, came over and watched The Pirate Fairy.  (Have I mentioned that Amelia has best friends of all ages?!  She makes friends more easily than anyone I've ever met!)

For her birthday dinner, she wanted pancakes, blueberries, smoked sausage, Hershey kisses, and punch.  

She asked for an island cake with dolphins, and her friends James, Lauren, Landry, Colson, and 9-day-old Noah enjoyed cake and ice cream with our family.  

Thankfully, we had everything for the cake already in the toy bins...loved that we had mini-birthday hats for the octopi. :)

Amelia Kate,
You are energetic, non-stop, and a complete chatterbox.  You are not a smidgen short of being one-of-a-kind.  The dramatic fashion in which you handle disappointment could use a bit of work, but you love people, offer forgiveness, and enjoy life more than the vast majority of the population.  Child, you set a beautiful example without even being aware of it.  What a blessing you are!  Hope you had a wonderful 6th birthday!!

olivia turns three

Let's all take a moment to appreciate the fact that all mothers drop the ball from time to time.  Friday, it was my turn.  I uploaded some pictures to my computer, and I obviously didn't include them all in the upload.  It makes me very sad because the ones that didn't make it included little stinker pot's third birthday cupcakes.  

IF I had made them perfectly and taken perfect pictures, they would have looked like these:

Image: Erica's Sweet Tooth

Olivia's were similar...not as rounded on the top...no white mickey buttons...lighting not as great for the picture.  I'd say maybe it was better this way because the ones in the picture above are just so darned perfect, but then we miss Olivia's sweet little smile for her birthday cupcakes.  And you miss how three of them were lined up in front of her with a candle in each.  And you miss how she had to blow at them about 10 times to get them out because she was blowing up rather than out.  It was so cute, and I'm a bit teary-eyed just thinking about how I don't have it captured in a photo. :(  I'm sentimental like that.  

I'm sorry, Olivia.

And now I'm moving on because there is absolutely NOTHING I can do to bring back those pictures, so I'll happily show the pictures that did make the cut.  

The girls talked Olivia into a Mickey Mouse theme for her birthday party because they insisted that they do a Disney Day for Olivia since she didn't get to enjoy Disney with us in September.  They have been planning this for at least a couple of months.  They are so, so sweet to her, and they just couldn't love her more than they do.  

All three girls stayed up late on a Friday night to decorate and woke up at 6:00 a.m. the following morning to make cinnamon rolls, Mickey Mouse pancakes, and the works for breakfast.  Here's sneak peek at Disney Day:

Breakfast goodies: handwritten menus, Mickey stickers, autograph book for the day

fruit tray while we're waiting for our pancakes and cinnamon rolls

Loving the day already...and who wouldn't love Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes?

Disney employees hand these stickers out everywhere.  The girls saved them for Olivia and used them in lots of places.  Love their creativity!!

Bippity-Bobbity-Boutique right in our own home!!  Complete with glitter hairspray, a tutu, fairy wings, and a sash.

1st Visit :)

She met Minnie Mouse...

...and Princess Anna...

and Queen Elsa.

The whole group together. :)

She rode Toy Story Mania.

This is a bulls-eye from TSM.  

They had her throw little sponges at the bulls-eyes that were all over the hallway.

They had the Mad Tea Party in the kitchen and used the roller coaster scene from Despicable Me as another roller coaster ride.  They put a kitchen chair in front of the t.v. and would lean the chair all around depending on which direction the roller coaster appeared to be heading. 

Is that so sweet or what?!  

At three years old, Olivia loves...

-reading books

-playing Legos

-taking baths

-playing outside

-being with her sisters

-eating snacks

-giving hugs

-being a helper

-playing with dolls

-talking

She's not so much into...

-sitting still

-trying new foods (although once she does, she often likes them)

-having her hair brushed

-being fully potty trained

-telling Daddy goodnight (not sure why?!)

Olivia,

We love you more than words can say.  You make us laugh every single day, and we can't wait to watch you grow this year.  What a joy and a blessing you are to our family!

too much information

Most kiddos really don't have a filter when it comes to appropriate topics at the dinner table, and my amazing six year old definitely falls into that category.

We went out to dinner tonight at a local restaurant with my dad.  And one of the owners (who my dad and I both know) came over to chat with our family.  

As she was chatting with Olivia, Amelia piped into the conversation: "Yeah, she's not feeling too well.  She had diarrhea earlier."

Of course, we all laughed, and I was thinking that we might need to discuss appropriate topics for dinner conversation sometime in the near future.

The following portion of the story is waaaay too much information, but it's just too amusing not to document for the history books.

  

Shortly thereafter, I took Olivia and Amelia into the bathroom.  As Olivia was sitting on the toilet, Amelia noticed a little bit of poop still on Olivia's backside that I had obviously missed when cleaning her up after her nap. 

A: Mom, she still has a little poop on her bottom.

Me: I see that...sometimes that happens...(and recalling our earlier conversation at the table)...you don't need to mention this to anyone once we go back out to the table.  

A: (slightly shocked) Oh, I wouldn't do that, Mom!  You don't have to tell me that.

Me: Well, you already made the announcement that she had diarrhea, so I thought I should mention it. :)

Love the way she makes me laugh.

age three

I decided to do a little comparison tonight of my girls at age three.  I didn't dig too hard for pictures, but these are the ones that I compiled.

I was shocked to look through the pictures of Meredith and see how much Olivia resembles her.  I don't think you can really tell it in these two pictures of Meredith and Olivia (because Olivia gives her cheesy photo face).

Love these girls!

the melted ice cream cone cake

Meredith chose a super-simple melted ice cream cone cake for her birthday.  It was one of the easiest birthday cakes I've had to do.  (I won't lie, I try to gear my kiddos toward easy cakes on Pinterest.)  She wanted white frosting for the cake and sprinkles for the ice cream cone.  

I made a simple ganache (seriously, it tasted like chocolate gold):

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chocolate chips

Put the chocolate chips in a bowl.  Heat the whipping cream in a small sauce pan over low heat until tiny bubbles begin to form on the sides and it begins to steam.  (I didn't have much luck with the bubbles, but it was steaming.)  Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and DO NOT STIR for 1 minute.  Whisk the chocolate chips and cream until smooth and let it sit for a few minutes.  

For the "glob" of ice cream, I found some brownies in the freezer, thawed them and formed them into a ball.  I poured the ganache over the cake, held the little cone on top for a minute, and sprinkled some rainbow sprinkles on top.

Glad you had a great birthday, Meredith!