Happy Earth Day!

By happy coincidence my crew is planting trees and shrubs around our yard today.
The day started off cool, got warm, and now is becoming cloudy and threatening to rain, but my guys are hanging in there digging and planting.

Stan's marking off where to plant the hedge.  And where are the plants for the hedge?

I hope you had a good Earth Day!

Another Catching Up Post

Well it has been a long while since I wrote anything in the blog.  Mostly because we've had a lot of illness this year which is kind of unusual for our family.  It also seems to go in a long looping cycle.  First one or two will get something and then the next two and by the time it has run its course the first two start with something new (or a variation of the old).  But, we've managed to squeeze in a few things here and there so I'll catch you up in pictures.

Alaska's den won Klondike for the third year in a row.

We were deluged with snow.

We celebrated a birthday -- Happy 9th Birthday Alaska!

Brothers enjoyed hanging out together.

Babies were caught in the act.

We donned our hats and went to the zoo.

I even braved my claustrophobia and went into the narrow and dark "cave" with the kids.

And Button was introduced to the giraffes.

We dyed a few eggs and celebrated the Risen Lord (unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that this year -- uhgg!)

But mostly we just clowned around!

That's all!

A Bucket for What?

Danny Boy: Mom, we don't have a bucket for picking berries.  We only have a bucket for throwing up in.

(sigh) Yes, we've been a little under the weather and making our rounds with a stomach bug for a few weeks now.  Every time I think we've kicked it, it rears its ugly head again in one form or another.

I hope we will get a bucket for picking berries soon and we can retire the other bucket.

What's Been Going On?

Well we had a little bit of this.....

And, unfortunately, a little bit of that...

(yes that is a hole in our yard where our  hedge used to be.  Apparently, really cold, wet weather and a faulty pipe are not a good combination)

But, we homeschool, so everything is a lesson...

We celebrated a little...

I think the most over used phrase in my life is 'where does the time go?'  My wonderful boy with the most joyful heart turned four.  Happy birthday!

We cleaned a little...

Yes, that's my guy with an improvised vacuum hose (a good thing he's an engineer).

But, mostly we just enjoyed life together...

At least Danny Boy and Button are trying to get along better these days which makes for a happy mama.

A Good Day

We had a productive school day.  One that was filled with different subjects and no one was stuck in a slow boring rut.   Math for Edison (finally received his pre-Algebra materials from Teaching Textbooks ).  Lots of different reading today we are reading Tales of Troy: Ulysses Sacker of Cities by Andrew Lang together very slowly over the year.  There is a lot in each paragraph and many characters to keep track of so we go slow and I have them narrate after each paragraph or two.  They remember it pretty well (sometimes better than I do).

Edison was reading Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright.  He was on chapter 6 and he still didn't like the book.  It wasn't a book that I thought added any real value to his education in the long run so I let him ditch it.  I am now having him read stories from Harold Bloom's Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of all Ages.  He read half of Hans Christian Andersen's "Red Shoes" .  A much more appropriate story for his age and I think it has much more depth to it too.

Alaska is still working on his cursive writing and doing quite well.  I managed to get Danny Boy to have his own reading time.  This is something that slipped out of our schedule over the past year, but I'm going to make it a priority again.  There are some fundamental information that I drill the kids on so they know it and we were able to remember to do this.  



We even managed to say the rosary with Mother Angelica at 11:30.  It was a little wild with Danny Boy not wanting to do this and Button climbing all over the place.  At one point both were fighting for space on my lap and climbing all over me -- not very peaceful -- but the rosary was said and in the end showing up is what counts sometimes.  At times I wonder what they all get out of this, but ultimately that probably isn't something I will know until much later if at all.

It's difficult after a holiday to get back the rhythm that you imagine you once had (and perhaps did).  So it is nice to have a day that doesn't go perfect, but still has a pleasantness about it that wasn't spoiled by my own ill temper at it not going perfect.


Even Button received a lot of attention from his brothers and me today.  I like it when it all balances out.  When everyone feels they received their fair amount, and I don't feel particularly harried today. 


Oh yeah, I even know what I'm having for dinner tonight.  Truly a good day!

Funny -- for all you Muppet Fans!

Bohemian Rhapsody

And Queen fans too!

HT: Susan

Advent, Snow, and Catching Up…

We are getting ready for Christmas.  Things are moving a little slowly here this year, but piece by piece it is coming along.

Here are some pictures that kind of give you an idea of what we’re doing.