Fun at the park

We went to the park the other day to meet up with some friends, it was so cold outside so we didn't last long and I only snapped a few pictures before my hands went back in my pockets where they stayed the rest of the time.

Making learning fun!

At the beginning of the school year my friend and I decided to do a twice a month class with our 10 year old boys. We found a book at the homeschool convention that we get our ideas from. The boys have learned about whittling, pumpkin carving, planting a garden, and this week they learned how to prepare an entire meal and set a table. Each of them prepared a side dish and a dessert before hand and then during their class time they made a main dish together and set the table while it was baking. Then we sat down together and ate. They did a fabulous job with out any help from us moms.

A party dress

I love how God can work even in the little things. Michael has a work Christmas party this year and I knew I would need to buy something for the event because my closet it lacking dressy stuff, but I have a very limited budget to work with. I had in mind exactly what I wanted but knew it would probably cost too much, that is until today. I decided to go into T.J. Max and Ross and just see if they may have something. I saw the dress, hoped it would fit, tried it on to discover it was a perfect fit and then looked at the price tag while holding my breath..... $17! I can do that! Then I went to Ross to try on some black boots, I narrowed it down to two pair, let Camden chose (he has more fashion sense than me) and walked out with a $22 pair of boots. You can't beat a new outfit for $40, thank you Jesus! All I have to get are a few cute accessories, borrow a shawl to keep warm, and I'll be ready for the par-tay! Now I just have to decide if I should wear black tights with the outfit or go with my skin showing? What's your opinion?

 I realize this is the second time in only a few posts I have showed my backside, I promise this won't become a habit. :)

Memorizing states and capitals can be fun!

My boys are right brain learners which means they learn best through  pictures, fun stories, and bright colors. Actually most people learn best this way, but for some people this is a necessity when having to memorize things. I decided that this would be the year our kids learned all 50 capitals and their states. So I made up these fun cards. I'll give more detail in a minute.

I then had a photo shoot with each card, I'm a photographer what can I say? I then had something smaller and more portable. They now look like this, in a 4 by 6 print. Now let me explain how it works. Indianapolis, Indiana doesn't really have a story to go with it, it's simple to memorize because they both have the word Indian in them, thus the Indian feather. The kids picture the Indian feather and with just a few glances, they have this one memorized.

 Sacramento, California goes like this. There is a girl named Cali and when people come to visit her state of California she gives them a sack of mentos just for visiting. My artistic abilities are lacking, I know. The main thing about right brain learning is to have the picture embedded in the words. It "sticks" to the long term memory better.

 Jadon did this one. The story goes like this: There are two boys, one named Frank and one named Ken. Frank built a fort for him and Ken so they could go tucky (turkey) hunting together. Pretty clever huh!

 I'll share one more. Camden did this one. Here we have Little Rock, Arkansas. Camden drew a bunch of little rocks being thrown onto an ark.

The next thing I did after getting my 4 by 6 prints, is made this. I poked a hole in the top of each card and put a ring thingy around it, that way all 50 states are in the same place and the kids can just flip through them without losing any.

I got double prints of the pictures so I could make a puzzle game. 

So now the kids can find which capital goes to which state. Pretty fun huh! And so far the kids have memorized 36 out of 50. We are over half way there. By Christmas they should have them memorized. We take on about 3 to 5 new ones per week and then spend time reviewing. It's so fun learning this way!

pretend hair

When my sister and I were little we would play dress up. We would use pillow cases and put them on our head like a wig and pretend we had long flowing hair. We did this so often. I remember it just like it was yesterday. Today Anna came to me with a mesh laundry bag and asked me if I would put the pony tail holder in it. And when I did it, I had major flashbacks to my childhood. Anna went the rest of the day donning this. I chuckled every time I looked at her. I do wonder what the neighbors thought when they saw her riding her scooter outside with her pretend hair. :)

Darn boot!

WE are about to complet week #2 of Camden wearing his boot 24-7, only 4 to go. I say WE because it is a family effort. We have to hear the complaining that goes along with it. Camden really has been a trooper though, so I really shouldn't complain. I guess it could be worse. I wake up each morning and see Camden all twisted up in his bed and think to myself how uncomfortable it must be. I cannot even imagine trying to sleep with a heavy boot on my foot. I really hope when he goes in on the 15th for a re-check on the foot things will be better and we can give the boot to the boot. Probably wishful thinking since Camden is still having occasional pain and swelling almost every night. He still won't even try to bear weight on it when he takes it off to shower. I know if Camden felt like he could; he would sneak in a walk here or there but he is very cautious when the boot is off for that 15 minutes. Time will tell, I just hope his time in the boot will go by quickly for his sake and ours!

A new look

I have a new look. I have the best hair dresser. She does wonders with my hair. I wish I could go to her house every morning and have her make me look like this everyday because I sure can't seem to ever make it look this good. 

 Back view.

 Rear view. Ha Ha. This is what happens when I ask my husband to take a picture of the back of my head. I'm so happy he is still attracted to me after 16 years of marriage, silly boy. Moving on...really, just move on. Next picture please. I wonder if I leave this picture small if it will make my butt look smaller?

 Little miss got her hair cut too but was too hyper to stand still for a picture so instead she did this.

 and this.

 and this.