listen up

I love learning though not usually by reading. Rather, I like to listen. I listen to conferences, seminars, books, workshops, and anything else I can get my hands on--mainly in the areas of my Christian faith, home education, history, the family, parenting, classic literature, or some mixture of these.

I do read. However, most of the reading I do is out loud. For example, I've been reading Parenting by the Book by John Rosemond out loud with Johnny. (Excellent parenting book.) Also, I read out loud a lot to my children. I never read the Winnie the Pooh stories until this past year. So glad I did! What a delight to read them to the kids!

I do some silent reading, but I find I don't pick up as much. I've found the best way to read my Bible is to put on my headphones and follow along. And the best way for me to listen to all those seminars is while I'm doing something. I can't just sit; I must do. I suspect I'm some kind of audio/kinesthetic learner. I have my IPod on mainly while I do housework and gardening.

Enough about me.

The reason I'm writing this is so that I can share with you all the wonderful audio resources I've come across. You'll see them listed in the sidebar. Many I download directly through I-Tunes. And best of all, they are all FREE! I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do.

guess we haven't explained that to him

I told Henri that he'll be helping his Papa usher on Sunday.

Henri responded in all seriousness, "You mean, I'll get to hand out the baskets so that people can throw away their garbage?"


Then we had a short discussion on the offering basket.

Perhaps we should have him put in some money, but we haven't figured out the best way to do that yet. Do you have any advice?

Okay, obviously, I haven't been keeping up with my blog lately.

However, I'm deeply concerned and praying for two families tonight. Would you pray for them too?

One family's only child (9 months) stopped breathing on his own this morning for about an hour. He's on life support.

You may remember my friend's son, Stellan. He has SVT (fast heartbeat), and he's not doing well. Please pray for him and his family.

how to fold a fitted sheet

I didn't know, but now I do:

in washington

henri's way

Henri and I read Chester's Way today, a book we picked up at the library:

Henri enjoyed reading about Lilly and seeing her in her masks.

Then I pulled out some cutting sheets that I printed the night before, and Henri practiced cutting straight and zig-zag lines.

"Hey Mama, these look like sharp, pointy, bad guy teeth!" Henri exclaimed, holding up the paper after he cut the zig-zag. "Let's make a mask!"

"How about you let me figure out how to make a mask, and we'll make one tomorrow," I said.

"No, let's do it now," he smiled a matter-a-factly.

"Well, do you want to make a paper bag mask like Lilly's?" I asked, opening up the book.

"Yes! Let's do that!"

And that's how we got to today's quick and easy project:
Instructions:

1. Grab a paper bag.
2. Cut out eye and mouth holes. Make the eyes REALLY scary.
3. After cutting out the zig-zag lines from your cutting sheet, tape them to the mouth.

Too bad our paper bags had writing on both sides, but Henri didn't mind. He LOVED his mask today, but I think he's over it now that it's ripped.

be informed

food allergy statistics

As you may already know, my son, Henri, has food allergies (egg, peanut, tree nuts, & shellfish). I received the following statistics in my e-mail box today. Finding them interesting, I'm posting them here.

Nearly 12 million Americans have food allergies

6-8 % of children are affected

1-2% of adults are affected

200,000 Minnesotans have food allergies

30,000 K-12 Minnesota students have food allergies

Shellfish is the most common allergy among adults

Milk and egg are the most common allergies among babies and toddlers

20% outgrow peanut allergy

80% outgrow milk allergy

The allergens causing the most reactions in the U.S. are:
Milk
Egg
Fish
Shellfish
Peanut
Treenut
Wheat
Soy

Other common allergens in the U.S. are sesame and kiwi

Severe food allergy reactions account for 50,000 ER visits per year in the U.S.

Food allergic reactions cause at least 150 deaths per year (3 times as many that die from bee stings)

Any allergen can cause a severe reaction - not just peanuts and shellfish. It depends on the individual.

mother's day--oh happy day!

First off, I want to wish my mom and mother-in-law the happiest of Mother's Days! I wish we could have seen the both of you today to give you a BIG hug. But my mom was busy working at Home Depot, and Johnny's mom lives nearly 2000 miles away.

Highlights of this day included:

• My dad came over to help Johnny build a raised garden for me. Hooray! It's about 7'x4', so while it isn't huge, it's perfect for our small yard. I'll have herbs and a few vegetables in it.
• Dena sent us birthday gifts. Henri was thrilled to get the "game he's always wanted" Guess Who? (He'd never seen it before.) And Dena gave us the Magic Bullet Blender. I haven't seen the infomercial on it, so I need to figure out how to use the thing.
• Henri has been SOOOO excited to go fishing with Grandpa. It's fishing opener this weekend, so my dad invited Henri to come home with him. He'll be taking Henri & my nephew, Chase, fishing tomorrow. My dad took them ice fishing this last winter, and Henri has never been fishing in a boat on a lake. I'm thrilled that my little city-kid can get some country experience from his grandpa.
  

praying for stellan

first time for everything

Cosette had a couple of firsts today.

1. Cosette took a nap in the full size bed in her room today instead of her crib. And now she's in the big girl bed for the night too.

2. Cosette got her first haircut today.

Before:
After:

You too can receive this gorgeous cut from our very own in-house stylist:

Henri also cuts hair in shorter styles.

Give Henri a call, or send us an e-mail. He'll be happy to cut off your hair too.

building calvary & tomb

Mix flour and salt.



Add water and oil.


Form mountain and tomb.


Smile!
(And sneak a drink from your brother's cup of water since you're only allowed to drink from sippy cups.)


Typical expression from Henri for the camera.
Then bake play-dough mountain in oven at 250 degrees for 4-5 hours.

Thanks Mrs. Piper for your recipe and idea!

kindergarten curriculum

We're homeschooling Henri for Kindergarten, and we went to the MACHE (Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators) conference this weekend. It was excellent! Thanks to everyone who recommended that we go.

• So helpful to go to all the workshops for those of us planning to homeschool for the first time.
  
• So helpful to go through the curriculum fair and actually page through the curriculum that I've read and heard about.
• So helpful to run into many other people that we know and get advice.
• So helpful to see so many people from our church to know who else is out there.
• So helpful to know that 6107 people were at the conference.
• So helpful to go through the used curriculum sale and pick up a book.
• So helpful to have 3 days without the kids and without work to concentrate with Johnny on preparing for this fall.
  

All in all, I'd say it was helpful. :)

We did pick up some curriculum. Here's what we're thinking on for Kindergarten:

• Phonics--continuing with The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
• Reading--Pathways First Steps Preprimer & other readers from library
• Literature--Read alouds using various book lists from The Read-Aloud Handbook, Ambleside Online, Honey for a Child's Heart, and Sonlight.
  
• Math--Math U See Primer & ideas from Living Math
  
• Handwriting--In the Beginning and other activities to help with fine motor skills
  
• Science--The World God Made, Nature Reader Book K, nature study, plus an ant farm, butterfly and vegetable growing kits.
  
• Art--Celebrating Art (maybe a project from here per week)
  
• Geography--I hope to get a globe and just show him the basics.
• Bible--Continuing with daily Bible reading, memory, and prayer and looking to see if there are any other helps for character/manners.
  

catching up on stats

Stats on Henri when he turned 5:

Weight: 41.7 lbs, 50th percentile
Height: 3' 7", 69th percentile

Cosette weighed in at 25.9 lbs at his appointment.

it rained last week

I stayed inside, but the kids...

oatmeal as usual at breakfast

be praying for my friend's son, Stellan

Prayer Vigil set up at here.

how being put on another waiting list is a blessing

I'm having trouble organizing my thoughts right now.

We've been thinking a lot about education options (public, private, homeschooling) for Henri as he will be of Kindergarten age this fall.

We applied to several public schools, mainly charter schools. We've also been exploring homeschooling. Private schooling isn't feasible for us.

We received notice today that Henri is number 100 on a waiting list for one of the public charter schools we applied to for Kindergarten, which choose their applicants by lottery. We are also number 48, 66, & 34 for three other public schools. And we're still waiting on one more for an all day, everyday French immersion magnet school that's 15 miles away through a congested interstate. We're not too excited about that one.

I have mixed feelings. Before finding out today about the latest school, I felt sad about the thought of sending Henri to a school when I've really enjoyed teaching him how to read this year. He's liked it too.

However, when we found out we didn't get in another school the reality of having to actually homeschool during Kindergarten settled in. We like the thought of homeschooling Henri for many good reasons. We really like this choice, a lot, though it scares me. Today, I was sad while being happy all at the same time.

We have been praying that we wouldn't get into any schools if homeschooling Henri is what we should be doing. It seems that the Lord is blessing us with an answer to our prayer.

While in my grieving state over Henri not going to a Kindergarten classroom, I put on my iPod and was blessed to learn about this little girl:



You can watch all 6 installments on You Tube.

This video reminded me of what many homeschooling families seem to foster--closeness between family members and a lack of peer dependence. I had an overwhelming feeling that the Lord was nudging my heart, letting me know that this is really what we should do next year. (While I realize this closeness may vary from family to family, it was a blessing to me this afternoon.)

It's settling in that we REALLY are heading toward homeschooling. Yikes! Yea! Oh dear. Wow. Help! Hmmm... Really? Okay.

wanting a little attention

Cosette says,

While running, skipping, hopping, twirling, or dancing across the room:

Watch this, Daddy!

or

Daddy, look at me!

After coloring something at her table in Henri's room, and running to the room where we are:

Mama, I wanna show you something!

first name

Henri's first time writing his name correctly (beginning with a capital letter followed by lower-case letters instead of a mixture of both).

pleased as punch

Today, Johnny installed:

• two toilet paper holders in each of the upstairs bathrooms. Hooray! No more toilet paper rolls sitting on the bathroom counters!
• shelves in the mainfloor closet. The closet near the kitchen had only one high shelf for hanging coats from, but we use our front closet for that. And what will we do with all this new found storage space? Our current thought is to store the homeschool curriculum and school work there! That is...ahem...IF we homeschool.
  

handwriting for preschoolers

in the winter
in the basement
in pajamas

henri's quote of the day

I'm really sorry that I barfed on your bed.

life in our household is coming home last night to

• a toy train in the Craisins bag.
• dirt and leaves surrounding a house plant.
  
• a key missing from the piano.

henri talks to his doctor about many things

***UPDATED***

We went to Henri's 5 year check up today.

Below are his stats:
41.7 lbs--50th percentile
3 ft 7 in--69th percentile

Plus two shots, containing a bunch of vaccinations. I'm delaying the last two (MMR & Chicken Pox) which are both made in eggs until I get the go ahead from Henri's allergist. Also, I didn't feel right anymore about giving my children a ton of vaccinations at one time.

Henri was so brave. I asked him if he wanted to get his shots and he said, "Yes, I want a sticker." He laughed and giggled with the nurses. Cosette cried when they laid him down, but Henri continued to be jovial with the nurses. When they each poked him in the thigh, he cried. It was very sad for me. I don't think he expected the pain.

***END OF UPDATE***

Now that Henri is five, I found that his doctor was addressing most of his questions to Henri instead of me.

This is fine and quite humorous though sometimes embarrassing.

Dr. T: Henri, are you in a booster seat? (referring to a car seat)

Henri: No, Mama says that since I'm five, I don't have to sit in a booster seat anymore. (referring to the booster seat he sat in at the table)

Dr. T: Do you drink milk or eat cheese?

Henri: No, I don't like milk or cheese.

Dr. T: Do you watch more than 2 hours of TV?

Henri, laughing: Yes!!! (No, he doesn't.)

Dr. T, after checking Henri's nose, he jokes: Oh! There's boogers up there! Do you pick your nose?

Henri, giggling: Yes, I wipe them on my wall!

Later, while his doctor and I talked about Henri's allergies, Henri said:
Dr. T, if I repent and put my trust in me (I think he meant to say Jesus), then when I die and get to Heaven, I won't have allergies anymore! I'll get to eat eggs and peanuts and tree nuts.

Dr. T: Yes. And since I'll probably get to Heaven before you since I'm older, I'll have a big bag of nuts for you when you get there.

the cannon ball excuse

I haven't picked up my camera in weeks. What's wrong with me?!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The children were playing in our unfinished basement.

Cosette came up the stairs crying.

Me: "Cosette, why are you crying?"

Cosette: "Henri hit you!" (Mixing up her pronouns, what she means is, "Henri hit me!")

Me: "Henri hit you?"

Cosette: "Yeah."

Henri comes upstairs.

Me: "Henri, Cosette says you hit her. Did you hit Cosette?"

Henri with a confused expression: "No, I didn't hit her."

Me: "Do you know why she is crying?"

Henri: "Ooohhh! I accidentally hit her with my cannon ball."

i have a blog?

I tell you...

It is been so difficult to write a post the past few months.

I think it's because I got on Facebook.

And now it's all over.

I spend too much time there, and there's no time to blog.

BUT

I am super pleased that I've reconnected with some very old friends.

It's so exciting.

I'm planning on still blogging.

Mainly as a baby book of sorts.

But for now...

I'm not very good at keeping up with it.

Pictures?

I haven't taken pictures in ages.

Unless you count the ones I've taken of our new curtains my mom made for us for Christmas.

Or the ones of the freshly painted walls that Johnny has been working on the past week.

But I don't feel like posting them now.

I've got to go fill out some public school open enrollment forms.

They're due January 15th.

And I've got to figure out what we're going to do this year for Henri's birthday. He's turning 5 soon.

Love to all who read this happy blog.