Monday, November 30

Not Me! Monday

I did not pack up 4 boys & attempt to drive over 12 hours to my parents house ALL BY MYSELF last week.  Not Me!  That is crazy.

And it certainly was not me that refused to drive any where because the embracing unsafe sound my truck was making.

It really was NOT ME who was following behind my mom’s white Expedition one minute & a white suburban the next – not realizing it until I ended up parked next to the new suburban in a bank parking lot with window rolled down ready to chat that I realized it was NOT my mom when a man got out looking at me as if I was some kind of stalker.  NOT ME!

I certainly have not been taking advantage of my parents while visiting them – leaving my kids with them & going shopping FOR MYSELF!  Okay, I admit it, that was me!  But I did NOT buy 2 pairs of low waist jeans though.  And I would NEVER buy jeans with holes in them just because that is the style!  I also did NOT try to get a jean skirt & some leggings, only for my mom tell me I’m too old to dress like that.  (My sister disagreed.  It was a hung jury.)  Not Me!

I definitely did NOT call my husband at work & asked if he’d be upset if I came home with blond, red, & purple strips thru my hair.  That is so unlike me.  I have NEVER had blond, red, or purple hair before!  It was NOT ME that asked to take a picture of the makeup artist at the MAC so I could show my hair stylist exactly what hair with 5 different colors looks like:

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NOT ME!

Still in TN

We are still visiting my family in Tennessee & we are enjoying every bit of it!!!  Honestly, I am on a much needed vacation.  I am taking total advantage of the help with the kids . . . my dad he is awesome!!!!  He has watched the kids almost every day so I could go shopping & run around town with my mom & sister.  They have been to the park, to a bounce house place, played football, explored train tracks & just played.  They have played hard! 

Moms 1132Moms 1205605590583I have not even thought about school work in over a week.  No lesson plans, crafts, projects, NOTHING!  I am enjoying being JUST a mommy right now.  Although, I love educating my outlaws & find it unbelievably rewarding, I will admit, it is stressful.  A break to my parents has been so refreshing & A LOT of fun!

Sunday, November 29

THANKSGIVING

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We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving dinner!!

My mom (who has forbid me to post any pictures of her), cooked the most amazing meal. We had a fantastic afternoon full of family, food, & football. To end the night we all gathered around the table for a game of poker . . .

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And just for the record, my sister & I were the last 2 playing.

I let her win :)

576 I had a wonderful day with my family.

babies 532 And I am soooo very thankful for spending it with my family & my OUTLAWS!!babies 539

Thursday, November 26

Happy Thanksgiving!

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This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my family.  I love this bunch! 

My husband – he is my best friend & my biggest fan.  I’m so thankful for our marriage.  He is a great daddy, provider, protector, teacher, friend, & leader of our home . . .

My kids. 

Tiya.   I’m thankful for the beautiful young woman she is growing into.  For the athletic talents God has gifted her with.  I miss her so much & wish we saw more of her, but I’m thankful for the time we do share.

Taylor.  I’m so thankful God has placed her in our home & continued to give us the strength to protect that gift.  She is an awesome big sister, a silly girl, full of laughter, slightly sassy, but oh so sweet! 

Tyler.  My sweet boy who soon will be a fine young man.  I am thankful for his tender heart, forgivingness, strength, & drive to work hard.  He is the best big brother ever! 

Talon.  My precious angel baby.  I am so thankful for the moments I had with him.  The value of life & the gift of motherhood that he taught me.  I’m thankful God picked me to be his mommy.

Tucker.  My curly headed, mischievous little mustang.  I’m thankful for his quiet, loving, free spirit & his wild imagination.  I love those big hazel eyes & those little ringlets that hang down.  He is truly a joy.

Trevor.  My crazy & wild blue-eyed blond boy.  I thank God for his little guy.  He has so much energy -  always the last one down & the first one up.  He is so smart, knows exactly what he wants & never settles for less. 

Truman.  My baby.  I’m so very thankful for this giggly little bronco.   His little smile melts my heart & his little squeals bring joy to my soul. 

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Tuesday, November 24

Sisters

My Sister & I have been having a fabulous time together. I can’t describe the joy that I get from spending time with her. She is absolutely AmAzInG!!!! I am so grateful to be a sister & even more grateful that she is my sister. Brittany you are fantastic!!

Last night I got to hang with my sister in her VERY cool teenage room . . .

Isn’t her room awesome? I just felt cool hanging out it there :) I actually hung out in there until 1:30a.m. scrapbooking with her! We had sooooo much fun together:

SIM card 1920SIM card 1942 SIM card 1944 My favorite thing in her room (other than the clothes I will inherit next season) is this picture:

Moms 1271 . . . Of me & my sweet sister when she was just a little tap-dancer.

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James

Almost

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She (my baby sister) loves him

Moms 1103 - Copy   Moms 1108 - Copy

Almost 

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As much as

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I love her!!

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Monday, November 23

My Family . . . In Tennessee

It is becoming a tradition for the kids & I to visit my family in Tennessee during Thanksgiving.  Big Daddy has not had a Thanksgiving off in several years so I totally take advantage of the opportunity for a road trip.  This time of the year is absolutely beautiful, making a 12+ hour drive with 4 small children bearable.

We arrived at my parents house late Friday night & ever since I walked in the door I have felt (sigh) relaxed.  I truly just needed my family.  I have missed them sooo very much.  We are enjoying our time with them immensely; however, we miss Big Daddy a whole bunch. 

My parents’ house is . . . well, large . . . 3 stories!!  It is great -  either my kids are on their best behavior or the house is so big I’m not hearing all the screaming & fighting.  It is common for homes in Tennessee to have basements & that is where my children have been hiding out . . .

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Moms 1235They are in lego heaven! Moms 1236

And their big brother is loving hanging out with my little brother!Moms 1241Moms 1240The only thing I don’t like about the basement is that this guy lives down there . . .Moms 1251     Trevor, on the other hand, thinks he is pretty cool. 

But not near as cool as this room . . . .

Moms 1250   Moms 1249 We are enjoying our home away from home with my family in Tennessee so very much!

But we sure do miss you Sissy & Big Daddy!!

Friday, November 20

All About Me

Remember these?  Well, they are even cuter when they are finished!  Last week I taught my last class of my 10 week long All About Me class at our enrichment group.  This might go down as my all time favorite class to teach. 

I began each class (which was 1 hour long) with the same routine each week.  We started with a song, which varied depending on the theme for that week.

After singing, we would recite our memory verse, “I am fearfully & wonderfully made.”  Then we would review our memorization facts:

  • What is your name?
  • How old are you?
  • Where do you live?

Next, we would work on our names:

  • Recognition (Find it)
  • Build, trace, copy, write
  • Other name activities (*I made each child a bottle top name plate w/ their pictures &  their own name envelope too)

Lastly, we would quickly review the lesson taught the week before.

Look how cute my Mustangs books turned out:

Week 1:  I Am Special

  • We had fun with mirrors & singing, “Look who came to school today”
  • We played words that rhyme with “me” game
  • We took full body length pictures for the cover of our books:

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We started working on our fact sheet: 101_1168

I measured each child using a string – then they compared who’s string was the longest/shortest.

Then they completed their masterpieces, their self portraits:101_1169

We also talked about our favorite things.  I gave each child food stickers for them to pick their favorite foods out & put them on their plates. (*this is good for motor skills as well)  In addition, you could also have them share their favorite toy for “show & tell.” 101_1170There is also a “Things I don’t like page” that we were going to cut pictures out of magazines & write words on, but time did not allow & not all my kids were scissor safe just yet!

Week 2:  My Home

  • Discussed where we live (not all the kids live in the same town) – we talked about our city & state.
  • Talked about our houses (size, color, bedroom)
  • Talked about our neighborhoods (discussed characteristics of neighborhoods posing questions)
  • Read the story “The House that Jack Built & “My Street” by Usborne
  • Played “house” & built houses with Lincoln logs
  • Shared our house pictures
  • Completed our neighborhood coloring sheet
  • Glued our “My Home” pictures & shared them with the class:

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Week 3:  My Family

  • Discussed family sizes & members
  • Talked about what roles we play in our family (son/daughter, brother/sister, etc.)
  • Grouped kids by the different roles they play or by family sizes
  • Role played family roles
  • Introduced Tree Page
  • Glued Family photo & shared it with the class:

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Week 4-5:  MY BODY:  Basic Body Parts, Hands & Arms

  • Sang “Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes” & “The Goldfish” song by Laurie Berkner
  • Identified our basic body parts
  • Talked about different types of hair & comparisons in the class
  • Eyes – eye color, blink, wink
  • Practiced snapping our fingers
  • Clapped our hands – around of applause for everyone that had “helping hands”
  • Discussed & demonstrated ways we use our hands (helping, pushing, pulling, wiping, etc.)
  • Practiced throwing softly, quickly, high, low, etc.
  • Gave hugs
  • Made matching handprints (for following week)
  • Played mix & match w/ our handprints (as described below)

*I cut their handprints out, wrote their names on the back – each w/ a different color so if they struggled finding their name they could recognize it by the color.  I gave each child 1 of their own hands & someone else’s.  They had to match their missing hand.

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  • Reached for the stars – I put tape on the back of one of their hands & we had a contest to see who could reach the highest.
  • We made muscles from Adorable Wearables (LOVE IT!!)
  • Made hand & fingerprints in our books:

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We didn’t have enough class time, but I would have liked to have made a handprint T-shirt for them/their parents.

Week 6:  MY BODY:  Legs & Feet

  • Sang “Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes” & “The Goldfish” song by Laurie Berkner
  • I wrote each kids’ name on a foot cut out & spread them across the floor & they had to search for their name

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  • Read “My Feet” by Aliki
  • Practiced walking on our tip-toes
  • Stomped our feet, walked like soldiers, various animals, etc.
  • We discussed how things felt on our feet & how important it was to protect our feet with socks & shoes – as well as what shoes we wear for different times of the year & occasions
  • I tickled each of their feet with feathers
  • Did lot’s of jumping
  • Played kick-ball
  • We made footprints in our books:

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 We didn’t have time, but I would have liked to of made a class foot collage.

Week 7:  MY BODY:  Guts & Stuff

  • We talked about our bodies while making our body posters:

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  • We discussed the shape & size of our hearts
  • For name recognition I typed each kids’ name on a heart & they each had to find their name

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I forgot to bring a stethoscope, but I would have liked for the kids to have gotten to listen to their hearts.

  • We discussed what we put in our stomachs & the importance of eating healthy

Again, time didn’t permit, but I intended for them to play the Operation game.  Another fun idea I saw after I taught this lesson was tracing their bodies & running red & blue yarn through them to teach about veins.

Week 8:  My 5 Senses

  • We discussed all of our 5 senses while reading Maria Ruis’s “the five senses” books
  • Played a 5 Senses file folder game
  • Sight
    • Discussed eye colors
    • Looked through sunglasses
    • Used binoculars
    • Played with our I-Spy Jars
  • Hearing
    • Played “Name that Sound”
    • Played Musical Chairs
  • Smell
    • What is that smell? – smelled spices & discussed the different smells
  • Taste
    • Discussed things we do & don’t like to taste

I intended to bring items to taste for something: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, hot, cold, etc

  • Touch
    • Played with touch & feel books
  • Completed our My 5 Senses page: 101_1178

Week 9:  My Emotions

  • Made faces & acted out different emotions
  • Discussed our emotions:  What makes you . . . ?
  • Played Hide & Seek
  • Made faces in the mirror
  • Read “The Grouchy Lady Bug”
  • Took pictures for our My Emotions page:101_1177

I would have liked for the kids to have made paper plate faces using paint sticks & yarn.

Week 10:  My Manners

  • Practiced Please & Thank You
  • Practiced sharing – while playing Hullabaloo (they have to share the mats) *you could use any board game to practice cooperation & taking turns as well
  • Practiced be a helper & cleaning up while singing:  “Clean up, Clean up”
  • Gave everyone an “I Shared Today” badge

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And that concludes our All About Me class!

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