27/365 - At the Dentist

We made it through another appointment with no cavities!  What else can you ask for?

26/365 - My (Guitar) Heroes

Once the kids played Guitar Hero with Joshua two new rockers were born, so we had to go out and get our own game.  They are so CUTE   cool with their guitars, their snarls and head-bopping, and their singing along to Bon Jovi, Steve Miller, and Paul McCartney.  Noah is already mastering medium difficulty, leaving me far behind. 

25/365 - Taking On Responsibility (without even being asked!)

Today Noah woke up to realize that he was out of clean pants, so what did he do?  Without saying a word, he took his laundry basket to the laundry room and started washing them himself!  By lunchtime he had all of his clothes clean and dry.  I was really surprised and so very proud.

24/365 - Legos, Legos, Everywhere

Part of our nightly routine is walking around the house picking up all of the Legos and Bionicle pieces that have managed to migrate out of the boys' rooms over the course of the day.  They MUST be picked up or you run the risk of stepping on one of the pieces in the dark and that is absolutely NOT something you want to do.  No matter how many times the boys take their stuff to their rooms during the day, it never fails that we find tons of parts around the house at the end of the day.  

23/365 - Novel Ideas

Today we went to the bookstore to pick up the next three novels that Noah will be reading for school.   He had already picked out two, but since they were on the  highest level of difficulty on our list, we decided to work our way up to those.  All of these books are so different in theme, so it should make for  fun reading. 

22/365 - Just Like My Brother

Noah got his uniform last week for his new basketball team.  Cooper is still one year away from being able to play himself, so his routine is to beg Noah to give him one of his old uniforms to wear to the practices and games.  This year is no exception.  We are getting ready for Noah's practice and here comes our forever benched player.  Next year, Cooper...next year. 

21/365 - Saving

Both Noah and Cooper have always loved having a pile of change to save for extra spending money when there isn't any allowance, or they want something a little more expensive than the allowance will cover.  However, money is starting to take on a whole new meaning for Cooper since he has started learning the names and values of the coins at school.  Both boys were going through their stash today and Noah was helping Cooper count his change when he decided to go get his old Leap Frog counting bank to show to Cooper.  They worked together, putting all of Cooper's change into the bank and watching the savings total get higher and higher.  At the end, Cooper had $2.24.  Noah decided that since he doesn't really use this bank anymore that he would pass it on to Cooper and they set a savings goal of $5.  Now Cooper is looking for loose change everywhere. 

20/365 - Change

Today Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.  

This was actually my favorite visual of the day.  It just struck me as such a poignant moment, in silhouette, President Bush preparing to leave the White House for the last time as President  with his successor by his side :

 

This day has been bursting with historical significance and it was a  moment I will never  forget.   May God be with our new President and with our country. 

19/365 - Preparing for the Inauguration

Today's lesson was devoted to tomorrow's inauguration, not just the details of the transfer of Presidential power, but also the historical significance of this inauguration.  Since today is MLK Day we talked about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the role he played in the Civil Rights Movement.  We listened to a portion of his "I Have a Dream" speech and the changes that have occurred over the last 45 years. 

We then moved on to reading about Barack Obama's life, family, and political background.  The kids did a couple of craft projects together while I read about the history of Presidential inaugurations, the inaugural process,and what the order of events will be tomorrow.  Noah is very excited about watching it with me. 

We finished up with both kids writing letters to the new President  which we will mail tomorrow.  Cooper asked me to spell each word for him..." Dear Barack Obama,  Tomorrow you will be the next President.  Love, Cooper".  Noah's letter was written completely on his own and he wrote that he was 9 years old, that he was excited about having a new President, and that he was going to watch the inauguration.  He also said that he hopes he will be able to help the soldiers and the economy and then he decided to attach a quarter "to help the economy".  Of course, Cooper had to do the same thing after he saw Noah's, but he only had a nickel.  :)

18/365 - The Love of Crafting

Although he has always enjoyed a good craft project, Cooper hasn't been able to get enough of crafting since he started school.  Cutting, gluing, coloring, painting...he loves it all.  Today he was using the scissors to cut up some clay.  He made snakes, pancakes, and a cactus. 

17/365 - Cards

This may look like a simple deck of cards, but it represents a huge change in our family.  We truly don't have little kids any more. 

For the first time in years we are at a place in our family where we can get together with our friends and the adults can play games  or watch grown up TV while all the kids play in another room.  None of us have toddlers anymore!  So far this year we have had two card games with the Morrisons, once at their house and tonight at ours.  We played cards while the boys all played video games.  While it is really exciting to know that we have reached this point, I can't help but feel a touch of sadness to realize that our group of little boys just aren't little anymore. 

16/365 - Our School

This is our little school at home.  We started homeschooling this year and everything we need is right here in our cabinet.  I knew we were going to need something to keep everything in, but I wasn't sure what I would do.  Then we found this cabinet, which is actually supposed to be a closet organizer, and I knew it was just what we needed.  It even ended up fitting perfectly in this corner by my desk. 

At the top is our school calendar black board and our portfolio folders.  The cubbies hold all of our work and daily supplies.  Underneath are all of our books, maps, art and science supplies.  Everything has its place.

I love this cabinet because just seeing it reminds me of all the happiness that our decision to homeschool has brought us this year. 

15/365 - The Cold Front

"If you don't like the weather in Atlanta, just wait 15 minutes and it will change," the saying goes.  Well today that saying certainly seems to  hold true.  We have had weeks of unseasonably warm weather all through the holidays.  This time last week, highs were in the high-60's to low-70's.  Then came the cold front and here we are tonight.  Today the high was in the low 40's and dropped all day.  It is supposed to be around 15 degrees tonight with a whopping high tomorrow of 33.  That is a 40 degree change in less than a week.  Typical Atlanta weather.  You never know what to expect or how to dress.  Now if we could just get a little snow over the weekend...THAT would make it worth it!  So for now, we'll just keep a nice warm fire and wait to see what's next. 

14/365 - Asleep

Every night Cooper plays his Leapster in bed while he is trying to go to sleep.  Last night I checked on him in the middle of the night as I was getting ready to go to bed and I found him like this...asleep with his Leapster with the little stylus pen still resting in his little fingers.  

13/365 - Guinness World Record *and* The Scare

Today Noah told me that the Guinness World Record for jumping jacks was 51 in one minute.  He felt sure that he could do more than that, so he asked me to set up the video camera for a test.  Sure enough, he was able to do 63 in one minute.  After he calmed down from the excitement, we went to the GWR website to see what one has to do to actually submit a record attempt and we were able to submit an application for a kit.  I am sure that there will be some stickler rules for jumping jacks (maybe even that a kid can't hold the record) but at least at our house, Noah is the reigning record holder for Most Jumping Jacks in One Minute!

 

After all of the excitement of the morning's record-breaking, I knew that would be our photo today, but now I have another big story from the day.  This evening  while Noah and I were at the table finishing our school work, Dwight came home from work and took the dogs out to play ball.  On one throw, both dogs were running at full speed toward the ball and they hit, head on.  Ruby (right) just froze and didn't move so Dwight went to check on her.  He carried her inside and when he put her down she couldn't stand up or walk and she was completely unresponsive to him talking to her.  He put her in her crate and rushed her to the vet while I stayed home with the scared boys.  Halfway there she began to whine, like she would ordinarily do on the way to the vet and by the time he got her there she seemed to be ok again.  After an exam by the vet (and a LOT of prayers on this end), it was determined that she suffered a concussion and she was able to come back home tonight with just a warning to watch her.  What a scare!

12/365 - Breakfast for Dinner

We don't eat at home nearly as much as we should these days.  When we do though, we all love to have breakfast for dinner.  Tonight's version was scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and Belgian waffles with cherries and whipped cream or with chocolate chips.  Cooper is such a picky eater these days, so it is nice to cook one meal once in a while that he doesn't have to be talked into eating something.  

11/365 - A Door Cracks Open

Tonight was very exciting.  Noah had these early readers when he was in Kindergarten and they have been sitting among all of the other books in Cooper's bookshelf for quite a while.  I was in Cooper's room tonight, putting away laundry and organizing the books back onto his bookshelf when I came across this book.  Since Cooper has been working on sight words at school I thought, "What the heck" and asked Cooper to look at the book and see if he could read any of the words.  With a little help sounding out a couple of words, he was able to read the entire book!  He was so excited.  In this photo, he has gone into the sunroom to show Daddy that he can read a book.  So exciting...it won't be long now.

10/365 - Legos

Today we went to the mall to spend the afternoon.  We had lunch, rode the carousel and the little train, and spent a lot of time at the Croc store.  Of course, with money burning a hole in the kids' pockets, the main reason for the trip was to go to the Lego store.  They each bought a couple of the new Bionicles that haven't made it to Walmart yet and Cooper bought this helicopter. 

The best part is that Cooper was able to build this helicopter all by himself.  Having an older brother, Cooper has always been ahead of his age in playing with the "big kid" Legos, but Noah would usually put them together for him and then he would play with them.  If a part fell off, he would usually have to find Noah and have him put it back together.  Later he was able to put the small Bionicles together by himself and eventually the large Bioncles too, but they are a lot easier to construct than the regular Lego toys.  Seeing Cooper go to his room, instructions in hand, and assemble this helicopter all by himself was so cool. 

9/365 - The Fish

I love having fish.  They may not be fluffy and sit in our laps, but they are our pets, nonetheless.  We have had this group of fish for so long...maybe 6 years...and they are still fascinating to me.  Every night I am the one that feeds them and when the feeding hour arrives, they all gather in the corner and stare at me until I come over to feed them.  As soon as I come near the tank, they immediately circle into their feeding places.  It is so relaxing to watch them. 

8/365 - Back to Basketball

Basketball is Noah's favorite sport and since it only comes around for a couple of months once a year it is always very exciting when January gets here and practices start up again.  This will be Noah's 6th season playing and Dwight has been his coach for all but the first season.  I think it is so wonderful that they have this time to spend together on the court.  

Tonight was the first practice of the season and for the first time BOTH of Noah's best friends, Joshua and Cameron, will be on the team.  They have each been on Noah's team in the past seasons, but never at the same time.  Even though tonight's practice was a gathering of good friends, the boys wasted no time acting silly and playing around...they got right into the game. 

Go Vipers!  Here's to a great start to the 2009 season!

7/365 - "Welcome to Moe's!"

Today is Wednesday, so that means dinner at Moe's.  For years now we have gone there for Kids Eat Free every Wednesday night and usually the Morrisons and/or the Lillys meet us there.  We always look forward to it because it gives us a great middle-of-the-week break to see our friends.  The boys sit at their own table and play with whatever toys they brought that night while the grown-ups sit together and catch up.  Tonight I grabbed the cell phone to get this shot of Noah playing with some Lego figures.  Cameron, Connor, Joshua and Dylan were all there tonight, so the boys had a fun night together.

6/365 - Gam Gam

My mom and George wanted to  sneak  away for a couple of days to see us around the holidays.   Since Dwight was leaving to go on an overnight trip out of town today, it seemed like a great time for them to come up to see us since it would keep me  company while Dwight is away, so they got here late yesterday afternoon and are leaving early in the morning...truly an in-and-out visit, but a good one nonetheless.  Last night we exchanged our overdue Christmas presents and today we spent the day shopping (at Kohl's, BIG SURPRISE there, LOL), went to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant, and then wandered around Barnes & Noble for a while.  We came home and played a couple of board games with the kids ( What's in Ned's Head?, and, of course, Sorry) and then watched a little TV.  Even though Dwight's trip is so short and we would've been perfectly fine alone, it was so nice to have them here to keep us company.  Thanks, Mama!

5/365 - Wii Baseball

Today Dwight went back to work, but Cooper doesn't start back until tomorrow so I let Noah take an extra day off before we start back with our homeschooling.  While the weather has been unseasonably warm for weeks, it has been drizzly and rainy and today just wasn't a day that they could go outside to let out some of their energy, so the boys decided to play baseball on the Wii.   Noah has learned how to do the fancy pitches, which Cooper can't keep up with, so I had to keep reminding Noah that he needed to keep it simple for his brother.  Once he made the adjustment back to a "normal" pitch, they played about 3 full games.   It was nice seeing them having so much fun and I love when you can see the age gap between them closing in a good way. 

4/365 - Cleaning Day

Since Dwight has been off for so long for the holidays, we have been trying to cram a lot of fun into our "staycation" and not too much work.  Combine that with all the mess that comes with the Christmas gift explosion...let's just say that the house looked pretty rough.  Well today is the last day before he goes back to work and the cleaning just couldn't be put off any longer.  Bathrooms, bedrooms, carpets, counters....what a mess.  But after several hours and lot of elbow grease, the house looks and smells clean and fresh.  It's a lot of work, but it sure does feel good to have a clean house again.

3/365 - Games

Cooper has finally gotten old enough to play "big kid" games and Sorry is definitely the game of choice.  Most of the time the game ends peacefully, but make no mistake...it is a very serious competition.  Since this is Saturday night, there is also the customary football game on in the background.  Tonight I had stopped at Chick-fil-A on the way home to get Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshakes so it was a great night all around. 

2/365 - At the Movies

We went to see Marley & Me today and I snapped this photo with the cell phone.  It was a great movie, but it really reminded Dwight and I about Taz, so it was rather sad.   The kids and I go to the movies pretty regularly, but it isn't very often that Dwight gets to go with us.  The kids have really been wanting  to go to a movie  all together and it was really nice to have a family movie night together. 

1/365 - Our Family

We don't do enough family photos so I thought the best way to start and end this project would be with a family shot. 

We celebrated the New Year with the Morrisons, but as soon as the ball dropped and we had said our "Happy New Year"-s to everyone we came home to get the overtired kids to bed.  The neighbors were still shooting fireworks while the kids were trying to get to sleep, but luckily it didn't go on too long. 

We spent New Year's Day doing as little as possible, just relaxing .