Homeschooling Day 3: So Far, So Good

I realize day 3 of a career of homeschooling might seem pointless to write about, but (just as I journaled about the first days after Jason was born) I know I'll eventually want to look back and see how we transitioned at the beginning of this process.

So far, things are going really well. With Ryan, that is.  I've noticed Kaylin trying to get attention a little more than usual and Jason, for sure, is testing me daily.  His game of choice is partial obedience.  When I ask him to stand up (to get him out of his crib, specifically) he'll get up on one bended knee, like a man proposing to his girlfriend.  When I ask him to stop banging his fork on the table, he does it a little more gently.  When I ask him to give something to Ryan, he puts it on the table nearby.  When I ask him to say, "Yes, Mommy," he says, "Yes, Daddy" or "Yes, coo-coo" is his newest favorite.  When I remind him to stay on the green blanket during our learning time, he stands up and puts one foot off the blanket onto the carpet.

He is exhausting.

I think he can sense the changes that are happening.  In fact, now that I think about it, I'm quite sure he's demanding a certain element of control in his life, since he's not sure what's changing and why.  Hmmm...I might need to give him more control than usual...

The big kids, however, are suddenly extremely helpful.  They are really stepping up and loving new responsibilities.  Ryan loves taking Kaylin to the bus stop after lunch.  Kaylin loves being in charge of her little brother during my one-on-one time with Ryan.  They've both slipped right back into our summer morning routine of "chores before free time," getting everything done that is asked of them and still coming back to say, "What next, Mom?"  So there's pros and cons this week, I guess.

I got some of my curriculum in the mail last night and realized that most of the books I purchased are pretty far below Ryan's knowledge level. When I saw, "Say the letters C-A-T...what does that spell?  Trace the letters on your paper with your finger..." I was worried.  Ryan's so far beyond that...he's reading chapter books!  He can certainly spell cat!  These books are perfect for Kaylin.

But I am following the advice of a trusted friend and we've decided to plow through all of the {seemingly} entry level business to make sure all of our bases are covered before throwing Ryan into more advanced material.  Today, we went through two week's worth of spelling lessons in 20 minutes which, if nothing else, were a huge confidence builder for my son.  We'll cruise through book A for the rest of this year, then probably begin book B in January, but at least I'll have the flexibility to slow down if a certain concept or spelling rule didn't sink in during his time at public school.

One thing that's working really well for us is our letter/sound flashcards.  I went over these with the kids during the summer, but when we were reviewing them yesterday, I heard a little voice say, "Jason's turn!"  All three kids were on the couch as I said, "Jason, what letter is this?" then "...and Kaylin, what sound does it make?" and "Ryan, can you tell me a word that ends with this sound?" 

It. was. awesome.  ALL of the kids were engaged and loved interacting at their own level.  In the meantime, Jason will begin hearing the letter sounds, Kaylin will begin hearing how the sounds work into words and Ryan is learning the grammar rules that go along with each sound or letter combination.

Seriously, I'm already loving this decision. 

Preparing to Homeschool, Part 2

Now that I have figured out Ryan's learning style and chosen my curriculum, I'm ready to narrow down what each child should be working on for their age range.  At first, the task was absolutely overwhelming!

In The Well-Trained Mind, the authors grouped kids into specific categories: Preschool (birth to three), Kindergarten (4-5), The Grammar Stage (1st-4th grade), The Logic Stage (5th-8th grade), and The Rhetoric Stage (9th-12th grade).  I was excited to discover that I have one child in each of the first three stages...especially when it didn't occur to me that Jason would be in any stage other than, "Try to stay out of our way, wouldja?"

Lots of friends have been asking me how I'll know what to do each day. Basically, I am putting together a schedule for our learning that takes lots of breaks to get out everyone's wiggles. 

A few weeks ago, I started training Jason to sit on a blanket and play with specific toys while we did homework.  He knows not to get up from the green blanket and, when he gets restless, I alternatively have Kaylin and Ryan play with him while I work with the other one.

This is what I'll be working on with each child. (I'm typing this up, just in case I lose my notes!)

Jason, 2 years old

Reading
- talking (NOT a problem for me) and reading as much as possible
- ask questions about the story (to begin comprehension)
- teach letter sounds (because he already knows his letters) starting with consonants first
- sing "Old McDonald" with AEIOU and short vowel sounds instead of EIEIO and animal sounds.

Writing
- drawing pictures of circular objects (snowmen, train smoke, car wheels, Slinkies) using a counter-clockwise motion to encourage the natural shape of many of our written letters
- write letters with his finger in cookie sheets filled with rice, sand, finger paint, pudding, etc.

Math
- model counting by playing Hide & Seek (this is how he learned how to count last year)
- count backward (to blast off), by 2s, 5s and 10s

Kaylin, 5 years old

Reading
- phonics
- rules of sounds
- 5 minutes of drills (flashcards) and 5 minutes of reading, working up to 15 minutes of each

Writing
- teach proper direction of letter strokes
- encourage a continuous-stroke alphabet (instead of picking up the pencil within letters like b and d) - makes learning cursive an easier transition
- 10 minutes of instruction, 5 minutes of supervised practice

Math
- count in daily life (grocery store, baking)
- manipulatives (beans, pencils, chocolate chips) for basic addition and subtraction
- talk about money, time and shapes
- learn to write numbers
- count to 100 by 2s, 5s and 10s
- 5-10 minutes per day - more like a game, not academic

Ryan, 7 years old

Reading
- main purposes are to work up to reading quickly, well and habitually and to fill his mind with stories of every kind to develop a love for reading
- read 20-30 minutes per day
- give him simplified versions of original literature (Illiad, Odyssey, Bible stories)
- get books on tape from the library (without bells and whistles)

Spelling
- workbooks
- keep a page of trouble words, reviewing 2-3 times per week
- write different spelling rules

Grammar
- parts of speech, proper relationship between parts
- narration of stories (summarizing the plot, answering specific questions in complete sentences)

Math
- Math U See, which is very hands-on
- introducing money (you'd think MY kids would know all about money by this age)

History - I thought this recommendation was extremely interesting:
1st, 5th and 9th grades - Ancients (5000 b.c. - a.d. 400)
2nd, 6th and 10th grades - Medieval to early Renaissance (400-1600)
3rd, 7th  and 11th grades - Late Renaissance to early Modern (1600-1850)
4th, 8th and 12th grades - Modern (1850-present)

The idea is to introduce history at a basic level during the Grammar Stage, then repeat the information in both the Logic Stage and Rhetoric Stage, at the appropriate age levels for each period of history.  That way, by the time they're in 9th grade, reading the Illiad or the Odyssey won't be as daunting, because they know the basic stories already.

Can you tell that I'm really pumped up about this?  What excites me most is re-learning WITH my kids on a lot of this stuff.  I didn't retain 90% of what I learned in school and I don't want the same thing to happen to them.  I specifically remember covering World War II for exactly 2 days in high school, then being tested on it.  And by two days, I mean 2 one-hour classes.  I can't even tell you when that war began...or any war, for that matter!  And the only reason I know when the U.S. got involved was because of Pearl Harbor.  Not the tragedy...the MOVIE.  With Ben Afflek.  Now that's just embarrassing.

I'm reading books, blog posts and articles to prepare myself for when we start schooling.  I'm fully expecting there to be a horrible adjustment period for our family.  I'm fully expecting to feel inadequate, unprepared and unfit to educate my kids.  I'm fully expecting meltdowns...from them and me.  I'm fully expecting to want to quit, but am committed to sticking with it through the summer.

This is either going to be an amazing experience or an absolute train wreck.  I'm bracing myself...

Preparing to Homeschool, Part 1

So I'm officially a homeschooling mom.  Now what?

First things first: What on Earth am I going to teach my kids?  Do you realize how many choices are out there?  How many methods of homeschooling, let alone curriculum choices??? What makes one better than another?  And which ones are right for MY kid?

I gathered opinions on Facebook from homeschooling friends and learned about some of the most popular curriculum choices available. Then my BFF recommended that I read through The Well-Trained Mind, A Guide to Classical Education at Home and 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.  I haven't watched t.v. in weeks...I spend all my free time reading!

Both were fascinating. In 100 Top Picks, the author explains four different learning styles that describe Ryan, Mike, Kaylin and me in creepy detail. Each style has a corny name that makes it easy to reference throughout the book and both girls and boys can be any (or a combination) of these learning styles. Here are the highlights:

Wiggly Willy (aka Ryan)
- kinesthetic learner (hands-on)
- has a short attention span
- carefree children who live for the moment
- hates being bored
- needs the freedom to move around
- works well with projects, but needs supervision
- learns better with "real" books than textbooks
- easily overwhelmed by pencil-and-paper work
- often diagnosed with ADD/ADHD

Perfect Paula (aka ME)
- responsible children who like to see that everything is done correctly
- likes things to be clearly structured, planned and organized
- have a narrow comfort zone
- feel more secure when things are orderly
- seldom act spontaneously
- follows rules and respects authority
- enjoy typical school curriculum
- would rather receive information than think creatively
- often does well memorizing or repeating information (more in early elementary grades)

Competent Carl (aka Mike)
- likes to be in control of themselves and their surroundings
- tend to be analytical, constantly trying to figure out what makes things tick
- want to know in advance what they'r doing and why
- needs curriculum with minimal busywork and review
- enjoys logically organized lessons
- typically enjoys problem solving
- can have weaker social skills
- enjoy solitary activity
- expect others to operate the same way they do
- don't find it easy to adapt to other ways of doing things
- tend to be self-motivated and enjoy long-term, independent projects
- love to brainstorm and think out loud

Sociable Sue (aka Kaylin)
- often have warm, responsive personalities
- interested in people, motivated by relationships
- care a great deal about what others think of them
- like to be recognized and acknowledged for achievements
- vulnerable to conflict and critisism
- often avoid competitions, preferring cooperation
- tend to be big picture people
- don't like memorizing names and dates for history
- love change and new things
- gets bored with the same learning format

Did you see yourself in any of those learning styles?  What's interesting is that your learning style usually becomes your teaching style.  That's why Mike seems to teach my kids things so well: swimming, tying their shoes, riding their bikes...he's able to break down the steps for them into "logical, organized lessons."

Apparently, Perfect Paula moms often homeschool Wiggly Willy kids because they didn't succeed in school the way they expected. This was so eye-opening for me!  Now I know to be even more understanding and gracious when teaching Ryan. I need to remember that when we're doing long lessons, he needs something to fidget with in his hands and that his ansty-ness isn't a sign of disrespect. There was actually a suggestion that Wiggly Willy's memorize better (things like math facts) when jumping on a trampoline.  Fascinating!

The best thing about the 100 Top Picks books is that they have a chart of all of the top 100 homeschooling curriculum rated on a scale of 1-5, based on each learning style.  For instance, there is only one math curriculum that is rated a 5 (the best) for Wiggly Willy's.  It's very hands-on and you'd better believe I  ordered it for Ryan!!!  Yet, there are a bunch of 4-5 rated Science choices, because Science tends to have more hands-on experiments. 

I am getting more and more excited about teaching Ryan.  We're going to take a couple of weeks off, mostly to wait for our curriculum to arrive, but also to settle into the new dynamic of having Ryan home all day.

Next, it's time to make a new daily routine/schedule.  And as a Perfect Paula, I now feel NO guilt or shame in the fact that I'm more comfortable with structure and order to my day!!!

Meal Plan 11/28/11

Sunday - Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup
Monday - Turkey Pot Pie *
Tuesday - Chicken Enchilada Quiche
Wednesday - Spaghetti and Meatballs
Thursday - Baked Potato Bar
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Rice, Bean and Cheese Casserole

* new recipes

What 12 years of marriage looks like.

Last night, my mom took all three of my kids for a sleepover and to help decorate her house for Christmas.  It seems like Mike and I haven't had a date night in WEEKS, so I was giddy.

At dinner, we didn't talk much.  It wasn't an awkward silence...it just seemed like there wasn't much to say.  Afterward, we tried to catch a movie, but nothing sounded good, so we hit some stores to buy the remaining Black Friday deals after the crowds had cleared. 

Then today, we went out to lunch (we've been bleeding money this weekend, so why bother cooking?) and I noticed the silence again.  I tuned in to the fact that I was daydreaming about homeschooling.  I've been thinking about it a lot lately, since Wednesday was Ryan's last day of school and I'm suddenly feeling like I need to get my act together. (long story about why we didn't wait until Christmas break...I'll spare you the details)

I wondered what Mike was thinking about, so I asked.

Me: "Whatcha thinking about, honey?"

Mike: (long pause) "Um, honestly, I was thinking about how FRUSTRATED I am (insert burst of emotion) at Arizona State right now.  I mean, seriously!  They started out with a 6 and 2 season and these last few weeks have just totally blown it.  This really sealed the deal for Coach (insert whateverhisnameis here).  They're looking at this guy out of Texas to replace him...blah blah blah...(insert boring details here)"

I wish I would have continued daydreaming quietly to myself.  That one question sent off a 10 minute rant that I didn't care about one teeny bit. 

(10 minutes later)

Me: "Wow.  That was deep.  Sorry I asked..."

Mike: "Yeah, I figured.  That's why I was keeping to myself."

And that's 12 years of marriage, folks.  We're already the old couple who sit in silence at restaurants.  Not because there's nothing to say, but because we know the other doesn't want to hear what we're thinking about.  :)

Our Christmas Card, 2011

Since adding Jason to our family a couple of years ago, I've gotten out of the habit of hand-crafting my own Christmas cards.  Online photo cards are just too easy and, although I've considered it each year, the last couple of years I've gone the easy route.  And this year I'm doing the same. 

I stumbled upon Becky Higgins' free download-able 2011 Christmas card and fell in love.  I decided to fill the 12 slots with one picture from each month of 2011. I also threw together a Christmas letter, since it seems we had lots going on this year. (the pictures show visuals of several items in the to-be-attached letter)

Then last week, one of my sweet blog followers notified me that she was having a contest on her blog. The prize was 25 free Shutterfly cards...and I won!  So 25 of my lucky friends/family will be receiving this beautiful card:

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

I'm so excited to have my cards done and on their way to me.  I claimed some of my Pampers Gifts to Grow points for 200 free Shutterfly prints and ordered the above Christmas card, plus a TON of prints that will help me get motivated to catch up on my scrapbooking.  I saved over $100 with the contest code and the Pampers code.

Have you thought about your Christmas cards yet?  Christmas is only 39 days away.  No pressure or anything...! 

Another thought: a friend of mine does Valentine letters instead of Christmas letters.  She feels less stress after Christmas is over and knows that people appreciate the random mail after the influx of holiday cards in December.  Isn't that a cute idea? 

Happy 40th Birthday Month!

I wish I could say I came up with this idea on my own, but I didn't.  I read a post this summer that got me all excited about celebrating Mike turning 40 all. month. long. So yes, I had plenty of time to plan and prepare and think of ideas and shop and wrap.  Just like I like it!

Mike's month of birthday gifts:
Nov 1 - bag of Starbucks coffee (his favorite, plus we were out!)
Nov 2 - can of Planters nuts with a note - "It's NUTS that you're going to be 40!"
Nov 3 - Starbucks gift card (for his business trip)
Nov 4 - "We love Daddy because..." circle map (Ryan's idea...we put it on the door when he returned from his trip)
Nov 5 - a new work shirt
Nov 6 - tacos for dinner (his favorite)
Nov 7 - Arizona State shirt
Nov 8 - a huge bag of Dark Chocolate M&Ms (his favorite)
Nov 9 - black dress socks (a mentioned necessity)
Nov 10 - new gym shorts (another mentioned necessity)
Nov 11 - cards from the kids
Nov 12 - Death Certificate (for his youth)
Nov 13 - HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY!!! Glasses and an obnoxious "Over the Hill" lei
Nov 14 - chocolate chip cookies (his favorite)
Nov 15 - a jar of pickles (because turning 40 is sour)
Nov 16 - an updated, framed picture of the kids for his desk at his new office
Nov 17 - iPod gift card
Nov 18 - fire starters for the grill
Nov 19 - ASU decal for his car with the new fork logo
Nov 20 - "40 sucks" lollipops
Nov 21 - chapstick (he wakes me up to borrow mine as we're falling asleep and it drives me nuts!)
Nov 22 - a huge supply of Mocha Chip Frappe drink mixes (his favorite)
Nov 23 - memory foam pillow
Nov 24 - frosty beer mugs
Nov 25 - sexy panties (yes for me, but he mentioned them in jest, so I honored his request!!!)
Nov 26 - Daddy's Day Off - college football marathon
Nov 27 - to-go coffee mug
Nov 28 - a new workout shirt
Nov 29 - another huge bag of Dark Chocolate M&Ms
Nov 30 - World's Best Husband/Dad certificate

It's Happening, People! Oh, It's Happening...

I recently mentioned that I've been considering homeschooling.  Again.  Not that I've done it before, but I've certainly considered it before!

You may remember when I struggled with this idea back in April. Going back even farther than that, I originally mentioned it back in 2009.  Then I got the bug to make a school room last month. (all of those links are to catch you up, in case you wonder how I got to this point.  The comments in each post, specifically on the 2009 post, are interesting reads, if you're on the fence, like I've been.)

All of this discussion came about again while Mike was laid off and job searching in September.  This time, I really felt called to homeschool.  I'm ready.  They're ready.  It's time.

When I approached Mike and asked him to pray about it, his first response was, "Can I get a job first?"  The day he got a job, I reminded him to pray about it and he obviously said, "Can I get used to this new company, first?" 

But it's happening.  It's finally official.  We're going to homeschool!!! 

Until the other night, Mike still had his hesitations, but after begging him to let me do this (yes, that's how I would characterize my end of our conversation: "Please, honey.  Please?  Can I pu-LEASE just try this?  I know you have a lot on your mind, but this is ALL I've had on my mind for WEEKS and I feel very strongly about it.  Please.  Please?  Seriously.  What's the worst that could happen?") he said I'd be on a "very short leash."  If we don't see dramatic improvements in Ryan in the first nine months, he's going back to public school. 

I kind of panicked. I mean literally...I had trouble breathing and realized later that I was having an anxiety attack.  I've heard that it takes about a year for everyone (the parent, the child, the household) to adjust to homeschooling.  Yet, I only have nine months. 

Oh wait, did I not mention?  We're pulling Ryan out of school at Christmas. 

Why so early?  I had completely intended to let him finish out his 2nd grade year, until I spoke with a friend who recently started homeschooling her 2nd grader.  Her only regret about homeschooling is that she didn't pull her daughter out of school mid-year last year, like she'd originally wanted to. 

That got me thinking: why wait?  Why let him continue learning methods that our school system plans to use when the curriculum I choose might take a completely different path?  And, in fact, many of the manuals I've read suggest that students start way back at the beginning, breezing through facts that the may already know, to make sure all of the bases are covered before he's "caught up" to his current grade level.

So I'm sure some of you are wondering what made me want to homeschool?  It's a million little things, but the main thing is that I don't feel like I have enough time to teach my kids the things that I want them to know.  There's no extra time to do daily Bible lessons when we're spending over an hour and a half doing homework each night at the WORST part of the day.  There's no time to slow down and redirect my kids' attitudes or to address heart issues when they're nasty with each other (which is A LOT when they're in school).  There's not enough time for extra curricular activities; I'm sick of rushing around to get Ryan to football or Kaylin to gymnastics. 

Speaking of, I don't like the tone of our home when we're rushed.  I don't like the pressure of being on someone else's time schedule - catching the bus in the morning or dropping off during a 10 minute window, having a ridiculous 90 minute, "half" half-day Kindergarten just so the district can get funding for each student, forcing Ryan to finish a math worksheet when I know he's overwhelmed and checking out mentally and certainly isn't actually learning the intended material, just to name a few.

A friend forwarded me this post about "Why I Homeschool" from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I just love so many of the things she had to say and found myself nodding along throughout the explanation.  I couldn't have summed it up better myself!

So it's happening.  Around Christmas break, I will begin homeschooling Ryan.  Kaylin will get some schooling in the morning, then we'll send her off to afternoon Kindergarten and while she's away and Jason's napping, I'll spend a little quality time catching up my 7 year old on good old reading, writing and arithmetic.  By summer, I'm hoping to have a nice little system down and we'll slide Kaylin right in to begin learning 1st grade material. 

The morning after Mike gave me the "thumbs up," I woke up with such intense butterflies that I was actually a little nauseous.  I had been gearing myself up for this for weeks, but hadn't let myself get too excited, just in case Mike shot me down. 

But it's happening.  I'm so eager that I seriously want to start tomorrow.  Instead, I'll enjoy my last few weeks of having the afternoons to myself...because, if things go as planned, it's going to be a long, long time before I get the house back to myself again!

Treat Each Child Like an Only Child

It's no secret that I've been struggling with my 2 year old lately. He can be completely sweet, funny, charming and affectionate. Then suddenly, he could switch to screaming, whining, hitting, stripping in the middle of a crowd, sneaking cell phones, and running full speed in the other direction when his name is called.  He's completely bi-polar right now!

Last weekend, my mom watched the kids while I had a full day and Mike was out of town. As I prepared to leave, Jason's ugly side emerged.  I looked at my mom sympathetically and apologized for the day she was about to experience.

When I got home that evening, she said that she'd tried something new with Jason.  In addition to explaining some expectations beforehand (For example: "When I say your name, you come to me and say, 'Yes, Grandma?' - let's practice...") she tried giving Jason as much attention as she would give him if he had no siblings.  She still attended to the older kids, but whenever possible, she sat with Jason on her lap, played what he wanted to play and gave him individualized attention. 

And it worked.

She said he was close to perfect all day long!  A shock to me and a complete relief to her!!!  I've tried this strategy (when possible) this week and I've seen remarkable improvements in Jason's behavior.

Then I got to thinking about my older, more independent kids.  They may only rarely have meltdowns like Jason, but I wondered if their attitudes would be different with some individual attention throughout the day, as well.

Mike's been crazy busy lately working late hours at his new job, while traveling to continue his training and still going in to help his former employer, oh, and he's still coaching Ryan's football team that Ryan can't even play on anymore.  Needless to say, he hasn't been around much this month. 

That means that I've had plenty of alone time with the kids and have taken the opportunities to try out this theory on them.  I set up two kids to play together, then give the third child my undivided attention for a bit.  Then we rotate.  I do this once with the little kids in the morning while Ryan's at school, then with all three in the evenings. 

Let me just say that the results have been amazing.  They glow with pride for hours afterward, get along  together, listen better to my instructions...it's an ideal situation.

Give it a try with your own kids! If you don't have an hour to devote to each child, start with 15-20 minutes in the morning, then again in the afternoon if there's time.  You will be shocked at how smoothly the rest of your day goes!

All Things Are Possible With God

(...in the car yesterday after having Ryan's cast removed and getting his final x-ray...)

Ryan: "Mom? Why did God make us with skin?  Why didn't he just make us all skeletons?"
Me: "I'm not sure, honey.  Maybe you can ask Him that when you get to heaven."
Ryan: "Nah, I'll forget."
Me: "Maybe you could write it down somewhere...?" (selfishly thinking that I'd like to keep his "Questions for God" list in a scrapbook)
Ryan: "The piece of paper would be too small for God to read...like a tiny little crumb.  Oh wait, never mind...all things are possible with God!"

Even reading a piece of paper the size of a crumb!

"What is impossible with men is possible with God." (Luke 18:27 NIV)

A week's worth of costumes

For some reason, Friday were the "fall parties" for my kids at school.  I got to do a dry-run of Kaylin's hodge-podge, Fancy Nancy costume that I was thoroughly convinced would look more like Punky Brewster.

But she looked adorable.  Her hair was absolutely PERFECT!  Now let's see if I can recreate it on Monday night for Halloween!!!

Version 1: last week with long, flowing curls and a homemade tutu.

We ditched the ripping wings, added a feather boa and made her hair a curly, hot mess.  The crooked crown was the perfect touch!  She also wore a different skirt to her fall party at school so the tutu wouldn't get crushed.  Version 2:

Version 3: The final product on Halloween night.  Her hair wasn't curly enough and she didn't wear her boa most of the night, but she was adorable none-the-less!

Here's our weird little green spider man...he spent most of the night in the wagon, which was just fine with me!

Then there was Ryan. We don't let him be anything scary, but he desperately wanted to be a skeleton. With my vacation and Jason's birthday occupying my time, I really procrastinated buying his costume.  By the time I got out to the stores, all of the cheap costumes with non-scary skeleton faces were sold out (or only XL left) and the ones in his size were $40.  Um, I don't think so!!  He was tempted to go as Darth Vader again because last year he didn't have the long cape.  This costume was the perfect combination of the two: some weird skeleton guy with fake muscles and a long cape.  I have no idea what to even call him, but he was thrilled...

He tried putting his hands on his hips to look tough, but the dumb cast limited his flexibility severely!  I had to wrap the thing in Saran Wrap to keep it from catching on the cheap costume fabric.

One of the few pictures of all three kids...

My Tastefully Simple party on Saturday night lead directly into a costume party.  I played along and went in costume.  The crowd loved that I was a good sport about it.

Our Halloween was like most: no one ate dinner and everyone ended the night in a post-sugar meltdown.  What would the holiday be without evening drama???

Happy Birthday Month!

In honor of Mike turning 40 this month, I got the idea to give him one gift each day for his whole birthday month.  Some of the gifts are small, some are bigger. I'll post about them all at the end of the month (I wouldn't want him stumbling upon this blog post!)

It seems like every guy we know is turning 40 this year...many within weeks of each other.  One of Mike's friends turns 40 within days of Mike, so his wife and I threw them a surprise birthday party this weekend. It was funny because Jeff thought he was bringing Mike to be surprised, but the party was for both of them.  Mission: accomplished!

(It looks like Mike's grabbing Jeff's butt in this picture, but I'm confident he was holding the chair behind him!  Somewhat confident, that is...)

So this will be a big month for Mike. To keep him from being too down about turning 40, I'm flooding him with gifts to make sure he knows he's loved. Here's to avoiding a mid-life crisis...!!!