Simple Woman's Daybook



Outside my window... Sunny and breezy!  Dean is going to turn on the sprinklers today (unheard of for April) because the grass in the front yard is bone dry...  Hopefully he will get the first mow done as well.

I am thinking... That the signs that the kids are growing up are coming too fast and furious for me to be able to process...  Jordan reached the chapter on growth and development chapter in his science book.  It was time anyway to sit down and talk it out, so Dean, Jordan and I have been having intermittent conversations and Q&A (when the other kids weren't around) for the past couple of days.  It is refreshing to be totally frank and honest, and also disturbing the amount that he already knew thanks to his mom jumping the gun last summer.  Her version of instruction?  "Don't bring home a baby before you're 18".  yep... that about sums up my frustrations with that whole situation.

Moving on... Rylan is getting fiercely independent with her schoolwork - which is causing issues, Owen is able to remind me on a nightly basis that he is ready for his breathing treatment and wants to walk around the library with me and help select his library books.  Colin's vocabulary is blowing me away. I love this age the best. 

I am thankful... For the lovely family weekend we have been having.  Last night Jordan and Rylan slept outside on the trampoline for the first time.  The weather was fairly mild - the kids slept in silk thermals and wore socks and stocking caps.  They said they were pretty warm.  Dean and I joined them for a short time - around 11pm to midnight.  We watched the sky, looking for the meteors that were supposed to put on quite a show.  I think we were a little early.  There were lots of clouds moving across the sky and it sprinkled a little bit.  It was still a very nice time.  Until the next-door neighbor decided that 11:35pm was the most excellent time to do some yard work.  WTF?  I don't get those people...at..all.


From the Learning Rooms... We had an awesome week!

On Monday we did the usual stuff and then wandered over to a small natural area, called Dragonfly's Lair, in a neighborhood area next to ours.

We did an aquatic insect class here about three years ago.  There used to be a large deck that went out over the water where the kids are standing in this picture, but it is gone now.  The city must have removed it...probably a liability thing.  :(

Rylan found a couple of lost and forgotten Easter eggs left over from a neighborhood hunt last week.  There was even candy inside, but she made the good choice not to eat it.

Not much water in the ditch yet, but there were still some interesting things to watch.

Later that afternoon we did some craft time.  This became a fuzzy "C"aterpillar after Owen glued on a jillion pom-poms.

On Tuesday we had a counseling session and karate back-to-back, so the schoolwork suffered a bit.  But we managed to work in a decent math session in the morning.  It is the hardest part of the day - trying to work with three different kids, simultaneously.  Believe me I have fiddled with the schedule every which way, but when all three of them tackle this sort of work best in the early morning, what else can you do?  There are only so many minutes to work with.  So I do my best to keep all three doing different bits independently, while I spread out the one-on-one time.  Owen is able to keep focused for a surprising amount of time - as long as it is like 'play'.  It also helps that he has done this activity sheet once before (weeks ago).

He is using Thinking Kids' Math

Rylan is progressing on to adding up numbers bigger than five.  So I made up a game in that she rolled the die twice.  The first time she put together that certain number of unifix cubes, rolled the die again and added up that number in a different color and attached it to the first set.  Then she added the sets together.  She was completely irritated with me, so it didn't go over so well.  Math has been a struggle for her and I lately...



The rest of the week was spent getting the bulk of the work done each day.  It was one of our most productive weeks yet - which is big for me.  I feel like we are coming out of this hazy cloud of pregnancy/birth/newborn/baby time period that has lasted for the past four years, and now we can make some real strides in digging into cool stuff.  We have a lot of lost time to make up for.  Jordan is reading about Egyptian mythology, Rylan is learning about using a compass, and Owen learned how to use scissors and glue this week, while making his "C".  That child has been the most obstinate when it comes to crafty stuff.  Rylan taught herself...so this is more than I bargained for.

In the kitchen... Dean whipped up cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and bacon this morning.  I of course 86'ed the eggs, but it is a joy to just pull up to the computer and have my husband do the cooking - love ya honey!

I am wearing... A nice dark blue sundress that has really been in my closet for way too long.  It's time to refresh my wardrobe.  I'm taking the little kids to church in just a bit - so we all need to look nice.


I am creating... A new email account and all of the headaches that go with that. I have lost the war with spam on my old account.

I am going... To church in a bit, and then to the greenhouse later today.  It is Earthday afterall!!


I am wondering... There are some really crazy theories that eleven year old boys come up with regards to all things pertaining to sexual reproduction. It is hard to keep a straight face at times...

I am reading... Still reading The Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marion Keyes.  I made it about another 20 pages this week.  I was devoted to getting schoolwork done.

I am hoping... For some time in the garden later today.


I am looking forward to... Exploring the plant offerings a the greenhouse.  It has been a long time.  Too long!

I am learning... About Singapore math.  I'm trying to figure out what it is that makes it "Asian Math".  How is "Asian Math" different - and will I really screw up the kids if I make a switch?  I need to spend some time digging around on blogs this afternoon.


I am hearing... Colbie Caillat on Spotify


Around the house... Getting the sprinklers running (and problem solving about where exactly to position the trampoline.

I am pondering... That the testes of little boys don't descend until they are older - like 6 or 7?  I didn't know that.  Dean says it is the male body's way of protecting the testes until there is adequate growth/blood supply to the scrotum to protect them and keep the temperature constant.  Hmm.  Learn something new every day!


One of my favorite things... Watching the kiddos dance to music.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Dinner out with my mom and aunts tomorrow night, a nature walk play date with homeschooling friends midweek, and a Daisy field trip with a Master Naturalist on Friday.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

I set Colin on the trampoline this morning to wake up Jordan and Rylan.  Rylan was about to lose her purple stocking hat.  Colin bounced around, yet had no idea that his older brother and sister were sleeping amongst all those pillows and blankets.  He saw Jordan's blue sleeping bag moving, and just stared and stared.  He finally bounced over and peeked inside the bag, and Jordan made him about jump out of his skin.  Hilarious...

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