a glimpse into the life of me
Erica is learning to play a few songs on the piano. And when I say "learning" what I really mean is "teaching herself". She has taught herself most of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet, and The First Noel. We're talking melody only here, and on the last two it's not the whole melody but rather the first few lines, but still - pretty good for a 5-year-old who hasn't had lessons. She'll be getting a 30 minute group piano lesson once a week when Kindergarten starts, so we'll see how she does with that and Mommy's teaching/prompting. Perhaps it is soon going to be time for lessons.
Isaac is about to turn 3. We were driving in the car to the store the other day to buy a birthday present for a little boy in the neighborhood who invited Isaac to a birthday party. We were talking about how it was almost Isaac's birthday, and I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. His answer? "Hmmm... maybe a skirt!" But it was shortly followed by "No, maybe a dump truck." And so now he tells me, rather often, how he is going to go to the store to buy himself a dump truck for his present for his birthday. He's pretty excited to be getting big, and he knows that 3 is big enough for (pre)school so he's extra thrilled for that.
Cambria has begun practicing jumping off the bottom step of the stairs. The older kids jump from higher up - Erica from step number 4 and Isaac from step number 3. Cambria watches them and then practices jumping off the bottom step. She's getting pretty good at it! One day I was in the kitchen washing dishes when I noticed that I hadn't heard her playing in a while. I looked into the other room and there she was, jumping off the bottom step, falling on her hind end, laughing, getting back up, climbing back up, and doing it all over again. She has also found that she is tall enough to turn on and off the light over the stairs if she stands on the second step so we get to see that light switch on and off rather frequently these days.
I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, but I went camping this summer for 4 days and actually enjoyed it!
Anyone who knows me will be amazed by that statement, as I've spent most of my life avoiding the outdoors, especially when combined with sun…
Every now and then I have a parenting moment where I find that something I've been doing to raise my kids has actually paid off. Just the other day, I had one such moment...
After a normal morning at home, it was time to make lunch. I gave the kids…
Erica has started to be much more aware of other people. She has started doing things to help me, especially, often without being asked. I was sick yesterday (it's been going through the whole family) and so Erica, without being asked, got lunch…
Every year I get spring fever. It typically starts around the middle of February, when I've had about all I can stand of the snow and brown, dead landscapes. And so about mid-February I start feeling the itch to grow a garden. I'm roaring and ready…
Erica's latest interest is astronomy. She knows more about it than I do (which of course isn't really all that hard to do). She is constantly telling me about things she is learning about astronomy from the (1977) Charlie Brown Encyclopedia of…
My family has started asking me for a list of what I want for my birthday this year. I guess it's about time I oblige with the following list:
black purse
ballroom dance lessons, complete with dance partner and babysitter
dance dance…
So I've been working hard on losing weight for the past 9 months or so. I've been doing a lot of exercise (90-100 minutes a day, aerobic (an aerobics video along with some stationary bike riding) and a little muscle toning/strengthening), being more…
There's this thing called intuition. It is defined by Dictionary.com as "direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process." There are a lot of people who may discount intuition as imagination, but I'm not one of them. I…
Isaac is potty trained! We did the training (see this post) yesterday and he really did a very good job. All said and done, the training took about 5 hours with about a 45 minute break for lunch. We're certainly not accident-free yet as we're here…
My next big project, and the one I have been dreading for about the last 6 months or so, is potty training. My son is going to be 3 in May and he is still in diapers. He will be starting preschool in the fall and they, of course, require that he be…
I love my kids. They are creative, interesting, curious, fun, happy, smart, cute, and a whole host of other wonderful things. They bring me joy and happiness. They give me comfort and hope. They are wonderful people, and I have great hopes for them…
Erica is becoming quite the little artist these days. She received, as a gift for Christmas, a large set of markers. She has been using them to draw numerous pictures, many of girls in pretty dresses, and several have lately been pictures of…
Valentine's Day. The holiday of love. I've always felt Valentine's Day to be a flower holiday. And that has always caused me a bit of trouble, from the time I was old enough to have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day. It's not so much that it caused a…
I used to see the kitchen as a place to cook, a place to eat, and a place (occasionally) to clean. Somewhere to store all the hundreds of kitchen gadgets I have accumulated. A place to look for something tasty to snack on.
And then there were kids.
…
The most recent kid posts from the sidebar as I'm updating them again today.
In school, Erica's class has "project" time. Yesterday she said their project was drawing what they want to be when they grow up. I asked her what she drew, and she said…
If you, like me, have a desire to see a little snow (what little we had here completely melted today) then take a look at these fancy looking snowflakes. If you've got some paper, scissors, tape, staples, and time (these are a little time-intensive)…
My piano, long awaited and often dreamed of, has arrived! No, it's not a name brand, and no, it isn't worth a million dollars, but it is mine, it's here, it's beautiful, and (did I mention?) it's HERE - in my house! I'd say it sounds wonderful but…
Years ago I received, as a gift, a silk scarf from Italy. And it has made a lovely addition to the top shelf of my closet, as I haven't known what to do with it, being the fashion dummy that I am. It dutifully sat folded and unopened, in the…
So after all our looking around for a piano, we finally found one we thought we'd be happy with. And we bought it. It fit all the bills - Kimball needed a decent sized baby grand (over 5'5"), with a good sound, and I needed a black finish with…
One of the things I have missed the most since we moved is playing my piano. We sold our old piano a few months before moving, after deciding that it would cost just as much to pay to have it moved as it would to sell it and buy a new one in the…
Little children are intelligent, more so than you may realize. It simply amazes me how much they learn and pick up simply by (seemingly) only being in the room while something is going on, whether they appear to be paying attention or not. They…
So in an effort not to lose what the kids have been doing lately, I will put their blurbs into my blog on occasion (when there's something new to put over there on the right side of the screen). So here's the latest to be retired:
Erica has…
So I've been hearing all about this thing called YouTube lately, mostly from conversations at my parents' house (conversations I listened politely to as I had NO idea what they were talking about - yes, I live a sheltered life). However, I recently…
So our church had a party the other night - a Trunk-or-Treat/Chili Cook-off. Needless to say we took the kids, who enjoyed the candy immensely (except the baby who has yet to taste candy), and we also took some chili. I don't normally get into…
As part of my job of Mother and Primary Care-Giver to three adorable children, I've had plenty of opportunity to change diapers over the past nearly five years. Some days this is less fun than others (as you can probably imagine). My 2-year old is…
I'm one of those people who LOVES to eat. I mean that. I LOVE eating. There are some foods I just can't get enough of. Have you ever sat down and eaten a whole bag of Doritos? No, I don't mean the snack size - I mean the big, 13 oz bag. Or maybe an…
Some days, in spite of my best efforts, I just can't seem to accomplish anything worthwhile. My day is a long string of changing diapers, picking up messes, making food, feeding kids, cleaning up the food (and then the kids), putting them down for…
So today is my anniversary. Seven years ago today I married my husband. Yes, October 13th, and on a Friday no less. We were crazy. :) It doesn't seem like it has been seven whole years, and at the same time I can't believe it has only been seven…
