Just a laid-back day

Lastnight we were driving home from Destin and Maddox looked out the car window. "Mom, it's a crescent moon!" I was happy he remembered something. As all moms know, usually you tell your kids things and you wonder if they'll remember it for a few minutes, an hour, a day...or if they'll ever remember it. But he did. And then I asked him where the moonlight came from and he remembered: the sun. So, he actually DOES listen to me sometimes! What a relief. ;)

When my parents were here, we put school on hold. I guess it was our fall break. We have been easing back into it. We made a project, reviewed earlier material, and Maddox made a mini-book in the style of "Goodnight Moon." It is so cute. I'm charging my camera battery now (for the fair tonight!) but tomorrow I will have to post pictures of it.

I spent a lot of my day today driving Jude around in the car. He needed a nap before the fair tonight. Yesterday he refused his nap and ended up falling asleep at 4:30 on the way to Destin. He slept through dinner at Jim n Nick's and woke up at 6 pm. Not cool! By the end of dinner, my arm was numb. But how sweet is that face?

It made us laugh because it looked like I was totally breastfeeding.

October Visitors and a Surgery

When I was starting to feel overwhelmed and down (it happens time to time), my parents came for a much-needed visit. Now, I feel refreshed! 

But let's back up a little. The day before they came into town, Maddox had his first-ever homeschool field trip...to the kitchen of Hungry Howie's Pizza. He learned about how they make their crust, the way their oven works, and then the fun part: he got to roll out and make his very own mini pizza! Jude got to participate too, but he isn't a morning person, so he just frowned and let me do the work.

Jude DID enjoy Sunday morning, though. He was a ladies man at church!

On Tuesday, Papa and Nana rolled into town. It was a crazy day to come on base, being the first day of the government shutdown. People were storming the commissary like it was the end of the world.

We had a great time together. Before it poured rain, Maddox and Jude got to pick out their own pumpkins at the local pumpkin patch. Jude went with the giant white one and Maddox with the bumpy (or "warty") orange one. 

On Wednesday, we all went to an old favorite - The Back Porch. There's nothing like eating next to the ocean! Thankfully, the rain stopped.

We walked down to the water and it didn't take too long before Jude was IN the water. It was the night before his hernia surgery so I figured I'd let him enjoy himself and have a blast. He did just that.

The next morning, we were up at 4 a.m., getting our stuff together and then taking a sleepy 3-year-old to the car, asking, "Why are we leaving Maddox?"

I explained to him he was going to see the doctor. It was still dark outside and we had an hour drive, so he fell back asleep.

Things at Sacred Heart Hospital went quickly. Jude was in a giggly mood and the nurse said they "love the good ones." Haha. He loved his gown and yellow socks, but not when the socks were on (only when Daddy made them sock puppets).

They gave him "silly juice" aka valium and once he got a little drowsy, the male nurse came in to take him. Jude was reluctant, but when the man held him, Jude laid down on him and didn't cry at all. The nurse said he wouldn't remember anything, but boy were they wrong. He later told me the nurse showed him a blue balloon and a gas mask. I asked, "Did you cry?" My big little boy said, "Nope." He's a champ.

The surgery went faster than expected. Just as Andrew returned to the waiting room with coffee and muffins, the doctor came out and told us everything went great.

We were relieved and ready to take little man home! He did not want to wake up, and when we put him in the car, he started crying crocodile tears and then got mean. And then...sweet again. As he always does when he gets sad or sleepy, he asked me to hold his hand. Then he was out again.

Three donuts and a few hours later, he was back to normal. It's amazing how fast kids bounce back!!

The rest of the visit consisted of hanging out, grilling out, laughing, and a fun mom-daughter day. Mom and I hit the outlets and had some yummy lunch (and mocha gelato!) at San Gelato Cafe.

The next day, right after breakfast at IHOP, fatigue and nausea hit me like a brick wall. Before long, I was running fever and vomiting...lots. So sadly the last two days of my parents' visit were spent with me laid up in the bed :(

BUT...all that yucky stuff aside...it was a wonderful visit and I'm so happy they came. 

The hard part is now.

We sure do miss having Nana and Papa around!

I can't wait for the day that we live closer to our families....

You've been...BOO'ED

Lastnight, we got BOO'ED. There was a knock at the door, Andrew opened it, and found this goody bag. We got BOO'ED last year too so this year I know what the heck it's all about. It's a fun idea where people spread Halloween cheer in secret and you are supposed to pass it on, meaning BOO a house. I need to get some Halloween goodies today. The boys were excited when they woke up to the surprise.

We had the most fun with the silly glasses (as you can see) and the foam pumpkins.

Thank you to whoever spread some cheer around my house this morning! 

We needed it.

Jude woke up at 5am. That NEVER happens. Thankfully he is napping now and I'm finally able to sit down, drink some coffee, and surf the web. Maddox is having his own quiet time, since he doesn't nap anymore.

School was fun this morning. He actually enjoyed the math worksheet and coloring (which he usually despises). He did a great job on his phonics worksheet and I could tell he was proud of himself.

I guess his favorite part today was taking the globe outside and measuring the relative distance between the Earth (our globe) and the moon. We found a ball that was about four times smaller than the globe (since the moon is about four times smaller than Earth) and we used our yardstick to measure. A string of yarn marked each of the ten yards.

Jude was a great helper too! He says, "I'm strong!"

(finding Florida on the globe) 

There's Maddox waaaaay down there, hanging out with the moon.

For the read-aloud of the day, I chose several different Beatrix Potter stories. We talked about the front and back cover, the author, and then I had Maddox narrate the stories back to me in his own words.

He LOVES Beatrix Potter stories.

His favorite today was"The Story of Miss Moppet."

He actually laughed so hard he fell off the couch.

:)

All that...for a hairball

I woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m. with two little devils angels jumping in my bed. My first thought: "Oh, no! I forgot to put out the recycle!"

Usually they don't come til after 8, but you never know.

Five minutes later, I was toasting waffles, pouring coffee and...then I stepped in something mushy. And cold. And wet.

I looked down and my foot (and carpet) was covered in cat vomit. Gagging, I then realized that there was not one hotspot, but THREE. The cat had vomited three times on my carpet. I washed my foot, scrubbed my carpet, and held Piper hostage in her "cat room." She meowed all morning. Every time I checked on her, I found more vomit. And then a bloody hairball appeared. I frantically left Andrew a voicemail saying I needed to take her to the vet because she was apparently dying.

His phone was dead, so I never heard back, but when he came home he said, "Oh, that's just the red rug, not blood."

I felt pretty stupid. But still. It was a rough morning. And all that drama over a hairball. I hope the worst is over, but just in case, Miss Piper will remain in her cat room until tomorrow.

Somehow, we still had a good school morning. Maddox did his phonics worksheet on his own, deciding if the word describing the picture started with the s sound or the m sound. I got excited and told him every time he learns a letter sound, he is one step closer to reading.

I reviewed some moon facts and asked Jude, "So, what is the moon made of?" I expected something silly, but he said, "Rocks. And claters (craters)." Maddox was impressed and gave him a high five.

We read "Happy Birthday, Moon" and they both loved it. 

I hope tomorrow morning is another great school morning...WITHOUT cat vomit. 

Hello, Moon!

We started the moon unit today! I say that now with an exclamation mark, but this morning I was definitely not that excited. Sinus issues make me grumpy and FAR from a "morning person."

After the usual routine and worksheets, we started the fun stuff. We read a book about the moon and I learned some cool facts myself, like how it would take more than half a year if you could drive to the moon in a car.

I showed the boys how the moon reflects the sunlight, giving us "moonlight." We took a tin foil ball into the dark bathroom to represent the moon and then I pointed the flashlight (the sun) at it. To help them understand this concept more, I had them look into the mirror in the dark. Only when I turned the flashlight on the mirror, was the light reflected onto their faces, like the sunlight reflecting off the moon.

Jude thought it was funny that the moon is "bumpy." He and Maddox made a moon surface with flour and white paint, then we took a bottle cap and pressed it into the surface to make craters.

But, above all, the Oreos were the hit of the day. 

We used them to make different phases of the moon.

Every time Maddox would go to lick off part of the icing, he would conveniently "forget" and bite half the cookie. 

Needless to say, our Oreo moons lasted about a whole 30 seconds. 

Wrapping Up Unit 1

Today, I had a case of the Mondays. I woke up with a killer head/neckache and sinus issues. Thank God for Advil (and riding around 30 minutes until Mr. Jude took a nap).

We wrapped up the s/sun unit. We reviewed basic sun facts, why we have shadows, and talked about how the Earth rotates around the sun. This is a great vintage book that explains shadows...I love the colors!

We placed some objects on a black piece of construction paper, left them in the sunlight, then lifted them off the paper at the end of the day. The paper was faded except for where the objects were placed. Science is always a hit around here.

Maddox and Jude both have the "s" sound down and they retained their Spanish words from last week. I brought out the Cuisenaire rods for the first time today - they are different shaped rods (each size has a certain color) and the student builds different creations on paper incorporating all the sizes. It's basically a hands-on way to learn early math concepts. Jude loves them, but Maddox sighed as he used them. It's funny how different each kid can be.

Tomorrow we start unit 2: the letter M/Moon. I bought Oreos today (which never happens) to use to teach the different moon cycles. Maddox can't wait! (Let's just hope Jude and I don't eat them all tonight.)