Project 52 {Sunglasses}

Peek at our Week {salads, sketches, and snowstorms}

I’m not sure about you, but nothing says Good Morning quite like “Mom!  The cat peed on my dolls!”



A close second though would be, “Mom!  The toilet is clogged!”



I’ve just about given up on trying to figure out how to stop the little one from using too much toilet paper, but seriously….the cat peeing on the toys?  Sounds like vindication to me…






I guess it was a good opportunity to weed out the broken figures and occupy a bit of my extra time.


Which by the way is going super duper great!  I feel a bit ashamed at how long I’ve allowed myself to be so distracted by technology.  I have so much more focused time for the kids, and my energy levels are sky high.  Not to mention my giant never-ending “to-do” list is getting shorter.




I’ve been teaching Elaina to draw flowers this week.  Maybe it’s all the snow that’s making us wish for a bit of color?

We’ve also been reading a ton.  This weeks read-aloud is The Sign of the Beaver.  The boys love it, and Elaina is surprising me by listening in most of the time.  It coincides perfectly with our history right now, which brings it all together nicely.




I decided to scale back with Nate in order to work with him on his penmenship.  Despite teaching him the proper letter formation, somehow along the way, he’s gotten a bit off track.  He fought it at first, but is accepting that it’s necessary in order to move forward in school.  It is better in the long run too, for him to learn now, rather than to have to keep re-writing his school work over and over again.  I’m a bit of a stickler about the boys handing in neat school work…

Nate started keeping a journal this week, in hopes it will help him in his aspirations to become an author.  I think it’s an awesome idea!  The other kids though are less than thrilled to hear him shout out, “by the way, I’m journaling about you right now.”  Isaac keeps asking Nate to stop writing about me in your book.  Oye!



We are about a week away from finishing our Abraham study, and though we’ve enjoyed it, we are all ready for a break.  We started new journals on the Proverbs this week, and plan to do one chapter a day.  This is a very special time for the boys and I!  Another new thing we’ve done this week, is to do oral spelling drills rather than our written ones.  Both Isaac and Nate are enjoying this, and we’ve covered twice as much material.  I think I may continue this for awhile, just to keep things fresh and new.





On Wednesday the kids went to the Denver Aquarium with HSA.

They loved it!  I really wanted to tag along, and spent a great deal of the day fretting over it, partly because I wanted to experience it through their eyes, and partly because it was snowing pretty hard and I was anxious for them to get home safely.  I was amazing to hear from them all of the wonderful experiences they had there.  The each got to touch a manta ray, a star fish, and learn and see all kinds of neat things about ocean life.  Elaina was most excited to see a “real” mermaid!






We ended up getting about 10 inches of snow Wednesday, and keep hearing that we should expect more as the new week starts.  Even though schools were cancelled, we kept on with our studies with an exception to a nice long recess to play in the fluffy white snow.  Both of the boys helped shovel the driveway and sidewalks, while the girls made snow angles and froze their lips by licking icicles. 







Elaina had a decent week of school and resisted only once to her reading lesson.  I found a couple of older workbooks that I never used with the boys, and they seem to hold her interest better.  I’m so reluctant to buy a whole new system, since we own so many awesome reading tools and emergent readers.  Saul thinks we should just keep trucking with what we have; if she is still resistant in a few weeks, then we’ll take a bit of a break.


I think I’m on board with that…










Olivia kept herself pretty busy this week.  She did a lot of solitary playing during our morning school routine. 

She’s slowly working her way out of taking an afternoon nap.  Honestly, if we can make it through the extra drama that seems to come in the evenings, our nights go so much better.  She is more ready to go to sleep on time, and more likely to stay in bed all night long too.











Besides the dozens of outfit changes a day, and piles of toys strewn all over the floors, she’s a really easy going kid.  Unless she’s having a tantrum.  But that will have to wait for another post….



Saul decided he was going to cut his own hair and while he was at it, he cut off his go-tee.  He left these ridiculous “chops” on the side of his mustache, until after lots of laughing, we all convinced him to shave them off.  I ended up cutting his hair, despite the flat-top comb getting broke by the girls…





I’ve been back to my healthy cooking ways and only made one sweet for the week.  Lots and lots of salads including a new one: Fig and Walnut Salad.  Do you ever roast your veggies?  If not, you should try it.  It’s simple and always delicious.



Don’t be too deceived; if you look closely you can see fries…



I made Peanut Butter Cookies and used my uncles recipe.  They were good, but nothing like the way his always turn out!



I’m really looking forward to the weekend!  Saul is off work.  I have girls night out on Friday, and an entire weekend of family fun planned.  I think we are supposed to get more snow by Sunday too. 

Project 52 {nate}

 

 

a february snow

I love snow.


More specifically, I like snow that is fluffy, light, and dumps in amounts that call for snow days.





My kids like snow too.  Even a light dusting will elicit wild screams in the morning and pleads to go out and play in it.  What usually follows are empty promises of cleaning up the snow-mess, and not throwing snowballs at their sisters’ face.  I always believe said promises.

Ahem….




The boys are old enough to be helpful and will happily volunteer to shovel. 

That usually lasts about 5 minutes until I find they are goofing off, or burying their crying sister in the snow…

I’m sure you can’t relate.





As a mom, I appreciate the opportunity that snow provides. Work, for growing boys to accomplish, creativity for girls to play, and the pure exhaustion that naturally follows.

That nice cozy winter nap that I’d really like to sneak in seems a bit more possible after this.





I love taking snow pictures. 

Something about the crisp white and bright sun that gives beautiful exposure and bright colors.  I can never resist a mini photo shoot on such days, and even take a few romps in the snow with the kids for fun.



I glance over to Nate, who is plowing through the deep sidewalk snow.


“How can you possibly see what you’re doing with your hat pulled over your eyes?”


He’s already too tired to complain when I try to fix it with my own pair of wet gloves.





And then there’s Isaac.

Who’s buried himself in a snow cave, head first.

I try to convince to come out because I can no longer tell if he is still breathing.  I call out his name, and by the lack of movement in his outstretched feet, I start to get worried, and all but drag him out. Seriously, mom?  Couldn’t you hear me laughing in there?
Um, no. 






The whole street is beautiful, the trees covered in shimmering powder and the rooftops glaring white with the sun.  It’s quite a site really. 

Beautiful!









Olivia won’t keep her gloves on, and won’t stop licking the snow. Her lips are frozen to a nice cherry-red, and her cheeks are close to matching them. Elaina can’t decide if she’s enjoying it or not and ends up going in early, begging for her hot cocoa.



At least she hung up her gloves.

They all kept their promise, and cleaned up their messes.  There was only one snowball to the face of a sister, and she probably asked for it.  By bedtime they were all dragging around, and quick to be quiet after their kisses goodnight.



Yea.



I love snow.