Seriously... you can't make this stuff up

I was thinking, seeing as I've been blogging more diligently and (hopefully) people are reading my blog, I would take some time and introduce my children.

Nicholas is my third child. He is a love and a complete nut.

NICHOLAS: Can I touch my butt, Mama?
ME: Um... no?
NICHOLAS: Yes, I can! Because it is my own butt! And I can do this.
ME: *is afraid to look, but does when she hears a loud THUD*
NICHOLAS: *has run into wall and is now flat on his back, looking stunned*

My BFF Teresa, who just had her fifth? sixth? wait, yes, sixth, child tells me that some kids are always your baby, even after you have other babies. That's Nicholas.

He's my only kid who ever liked puzzles.

He's like Operaman on SNL. He sings about everything, and when he's in trouble, he sings the blues.

He kisses everyone, but is sure to always let me know that he saved his best kisses for me.

He's never drank a glass of milk, and will only eat green vegetables when bribed or threatened.

He had his first haircut at five months, and is the only four-year-old I know with backhair and a tiny baby mustache.

When he grows up, he wants to be a racecar driver pastor.

He's Katie Grace's best friend and Daniel's personal clown and (at times) Michael's worst nightmare.

He's our little bear, and we love him very much.

I'm a lemming.

I'm succombing to internet peer pressure,

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? St. Anne

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I don't remember, but I'm sure it's been in the last week.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Mostly. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and it gets messy.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Corned beef.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Four of them (so far!)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I hope so!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Um, yeah, just a bit.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I love cocoa krispies when I need a sugar fix, but for actual breakfast I like chex.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? Not terribly. But I'm an emotional Atlas.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate chip cookie dough.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? My temper.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My step-mother who was killed by a drunk driver when I was in college.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I don't wear pants. I'm wearing a khaki skirt and blue Maggie's socks.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Beef lo mein. On LLL days, I bribe my children with lunch out in exchange for being gracious hosts and hostesses.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A really annoying song on Noggin. "Everywhere I go..."

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Fuschia.

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Vanilla. Maybe lavender.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My hubby.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Blech.

25. HAIR COLOR? Brown

26. EYE COLOR? Hazel.

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. I used to, but it always feels like I am sticking a piece of plastic in my eyes.

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Coconut chicken. Yum.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Because of Winn Dixie.

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Blue.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer.

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs with a side of backrub.

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pretzel salad.

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Home Education by Charlotte Mason (among others)

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Clouds.

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Law and Order and Project Runway.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Baby giggles.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Florida.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Singing, I suppose.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Columbia, PA.

Evolution of a School Day

Ew.

OK, I'm trying not to be creeped out by this.

Michael has orchestra today and my husband had this ecumenical bishop synodical thingie, which left me (and the other three children) to get him there. It only lasts a half-hour, and since my New Year Resolution to no longer eat fast food (which I haven't blogged about because that means I have no back way out of the resolution, LOL!)rules out my usual time-killer of McDonald's cookies, I decided we'd pop over to the deli/butcher to get something for dinner tonight instead.

An older lady recognized my children. This wasn't a big deal. With DH being a pastor, people are forever recognizing us even when I don't have a clue who they are. She introduced herself, and then she teased Nicholas about his shoes being on the wrong feet. Again, no huge deal. He often puts them on the wrong feet--sometimes I catch it, sometimes I don't, but it doesn't seem to bother him much so I admit I am fairly lackadaisical about the whole thing. Then she asked why Katie Grace wasn't in school. By now, my smile was getting a little fixed--my meat was in the bag, the kids were itching to open the lollies "Aunt Mary" gave them, and I forgot the sling for the 50 pound baby. But I said, "She's homeschooled."

To which she replied, "What about Michael?"

"He's homeschooled too."

"But he's not here."

*is getting uncomfortable*

"He's over at the school. He takes cello and goes to orchestra."

"Oh, I wondered. My daughter B. told me you pulled him out."

And it clicked. B. F. = school psychologist who tested Michael and told me how off-the-chart brilliant he was and how it was a good thing I put him in school where they could give him what he needed to excel. B. F. the school psychologist who told me Katie Grace was showing signs of being profoundly gifted as well, and that I should put her in school, too. B. F. the school psychologist who has no business discussing my children or my educational choices with anyone, especially her mother who is a church member.

The whole thing is leaving me feeling a little violated and I don't really know why.

Sometimes it's hard to focus on homeschooling when this is giggling at you from the end of the table.



But we manage!

Things are still a bit in flux. None of us quite have our groove going.

The highlights of the day:
Cuddling up under a blanket and reading a chapter of The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I could tell the little ones were so engaged in the story, it took their breath away when Laura and her friends were almost lost on the prairie.

Katie Grace really, truly understands adding tens and ones. And I taught her! Tomorrow we'll see if she can subtract them as well...

As part of our Holy Name of Jesus study, we made a collage of images that represented the word MIGHTY. They gave suggestions, and we ended up with a lion, a volcano, an Olympic high jumper, a redwood tree. The Katie Grace chose Jesus suffering on the cross, and I almost cried.

Michael is working on a story. He is so funny and creative, and he constantly surprises me.

The downside of our day:
Katie Grace is a dawdler. We were writing in journals--and I don't expect much from her, she's even allowed to draw if she wants--and in a half-hour she had written the word the. That was it! And she grumbles and complains and generally brings us all down.

Michael keeps failing the math tests. I don't get it. I know he understands the material, but he can't pass a book test to save his life. Maybe when he was in school they didn't do tests like this? Maybe it's unrealistic to send him away with a test and tell him to bring it back when he's done? But I have to find some way to assess his comprehension for the stupid portfolio, and I'm a bit stymied.

Nicholas is very very loud and disruptive. Even when I come up with stuff for him to do, he does it very loudly

But mostly, I think I'm the problem. I have a temper and I am crabby and impatient. I need to do better.

The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord

Today, both the Lutherans and the Catholics celebrated the Baptism of Our Lord. I woke up with a strong, strong need to go to Mass. Someday, if anyone is interested, I will post about my constant struggle in which everyone's needs get met except my own when it comes to church. As a Catholic married to a Lutheran pastor and raising Little Lutherans, it gets difficult. But this morning, I needed the grace of Mass, so after I taught Lutheran Sunday School, I put Nicholas in the nursery, found someone for Katie Grace and Michael to sit with, and went to Mass with the baby. And it was lovely.

This week was Nicholas's baptismal anniversary. He was baptized on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord four years ago. We celebrated by singing the Baptism song with him:

I was baptized, shout hooray!
It's my very special day.
God looked down on me and smiled.
I became His own dear child.

The sanctity of the moment was only slightly mitigated by the fact that he sang this buck-naked. He also got to pick what type of pizza we made (cheese), what movie we watched for family movie night (Because of Winn-Dixie) and what we had for desert (root beer floats). We ended the day with a reading of Walt Wangerin's "Water Come Down: The day you were baptized" and it was a perfect day.

Nicholas is currently in a state of disequilibrium, however. He can't understand why animals in stories, movies, and television programs can talk, but he isn't running into any in real life. So today after church, we had this conversation:

NICHOLAS: Told you so, Mama.
ME: Told me so what?
NICHOLAS: That animals can talk.
ME: Really?
NICHOLAS: Uh huh. When Jesus was baptisted by John the Baptist, God split the sky open and sended the dove down and he TALKED!
ME: Daddy! You've got to hear this!

LOL! We're having no luck convincing him that talking animals don't exist outside of fairy stories. I love this kid.

Saturday is the day for confessions, right?

Actually, I didn't make it to Confession today. But I do have one to make here.

I love everything I've read about Charlotte Mason. But every time I try to read something Charlotte Mason herself has written, I find myself drifting off into a glassy-eyed stupor. Am I reading the wrong things? Right now I'm trying to read her Home Education: Training and Educating Children Under Nine. And it's really, really not moving me. It's a lot about the evilness of nurses and pudding and stuffy rooms. It gets better, right? Should I skip ahead to a certain chapter? Look around for another edition? I'm wanting to love this, but so far I'm not feeling it.

The Three Gifts Challenge

I read about this over on down-to-earth: Choose three actions you can take in your life to reduce consumption, not harm the earth, etc.

I chose:

~ to make a more concentrated effort to use my cloth bags. Always. Even at thrift stores and other places where I might not think about it

~ to make a more concentrated effort to use our SIGG bottles and to refuse to buy individual water bottles

~ to do better at recycling, and to "reduce" as a first line of defense.

So, what three gifts will you give to help heal the earth?

Is there anything nicer than

A half-naked baby who falls asleep on your lap after nursing? I don't think so. *happy sigh*

That was quick!

The new camera arrived today, and I'm so glad!

Not because it was time to say goodbye to our Epiphany nature table


and hello to our winter animal/"The Mitten" nature table


or so I could finally show you our cool IHS/Holy Name craft that needs to be hung up in a window


but because of this!




Crawling baby! Squee!