Spring Break, Day 3
Today we took the boys to check out a new park. It was really cool! There was a huge tri-level tower with really long slides, rock walls for climbing, balancing disks, spinners and, of course, the swings. We spent about an hour and a half there and then went for ice cream afterwards.
Spring Break, Day 2
Today we went to the mall where they had a Lego Masters building project underway. The kids got to go to a station and use regular Lego bricks to build giant Lego blocks that the Lego Masters used to build the 8-foot R2D2. It had been going on for several days, so he was almost finished…all that was left was the top of his head. Noah and Cooper built several blocks and turned them it to receive a participation certificate and a coupon for the Lego store. We went shopping with the coupon and by the time we were finished they had started the finishing ceremony where they gave away several Lego sets and then ended with lifting R2D2’s head into place. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.
Spring Break, Day 1
We have had a ton of rain over the past three days…about 4 inches or so. Since our back yard is really hurting in the grass department these days, there wasn’t much there to absorb all that water so our yard looks just like a swamp. Even Ruby just sat on the air conditioner outside the sunroom and wondered what had happened to the yard. As much as we need the rain though, no one was complaining.
This was so funny! Mom had picked up this Christian Living magazine at Chick-fil-A today and was reading it tonight. I was playing with my phone and realized that I hadn’t taken a picture of her since she had arrived, so I told her to smile so I could snap a quick shot. Since she wasn’t crazy about me taking her picture, she covered her face with the magazine. Looks just like Sarah Palin herself was sitting in our living room!
Toady we went to the Scholastic Warehouse for the book fair that they hold for teachers and homeschoolers a couple of times a year. We found some really good bargains and a few things to do over the summer to stay busy.
Last week while the boys were outside playing, Cooper picked this branch off of a bush and brought it in to me as a “flower”. He put it in a cup of water and displayed it proudly beside the sink. Today I noticed that it was sprouting new leaves. Looks like it may hang on for a while! :)
Gam-Gam came for her postponed visit and this evening we made a trip to her favorite store…Kohl’s. We go there every time that she is here…it’s our “thing”. When Noah was little, he used to think that she LIVED there!
Cooper is finally fever-free, but still has a scratchy throat. Noah, on the other hand, is still running a low-grade fever and seems worse. His throat hurts, he is pale with pink cheeks, and generally has no energy. Based on that we were off to the doctor for a strep test and exam.
Fortunately, the test came back negative and they just have the old common cold. Hopefully it will be over soon.
The thermometer is getting a lot of use today as both boys have still been running varying degrees of fever all day. They seem to be feeling better, but neither of them can seem to shake the fever.
Dwight has been sick with bronchitis for the past couple of days, but today it started making the rounds. Cooper woke up nauseous, coughing, and running a fever this morning. He sat on the couch watching tv or sleeping all day. By the afternoon Noah was also running a fever. With all three of the guys sick, it looks to continue to be a sad weekend around here.
Noah has been been studying Brueghel’s genre paintings in Art this week and his assignment was to do a genre piece about people eating. Noah decided to do this drawing of a diner. I love all of the bright colors and details that he included. Great drawing!
Today Noah bought some Moon Shoes and we weren’t home 10 minutes before he had them strapped on and was ready to test them out. It took a little getting used to, but once he figured out how to stay balanced on them he was running in huge, springy strides and jumping all over the yard. He stayed out there for almost an hour that first day.
We always have a wreath hung beside the front door, one for each season. As I was walking out to check the mail I saw a bird take off beside me and realized that she had built a nest in my wreath, complete with three tiny eggs.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day and the boys looked so handsome in their green shirts. We went to Bruster’s after dinner tonight and had green ice cream to celebrate. Erin Go Bragh!
I don’t know why, but I am just in love with office supplies. I could spend hours in an office supply store. The paper, pencils, pens, folders, binders, staples, and gadgets just thrill me. I can’t run through, I have to go through every aisle just taking it all in. My favorite time of year is when all of the back to school mega-sales are going on and they have erasers for 5 cents or spiral notebooks for 10 cents. I load up and only end up spending 3 or 4 dollars! Homeschooling has completely fed this obsession. I love that I usually have any supply I need on hand when we need it or that Cooper can just grab a new notebook to color in when his old one is full. I have donated tons of extras to the school that Noah used to go to, but most of it just sits here waiting to be opened and used.
It has been so beautiful the past few days and the sky really caught my attention today. The clouds, the blue sky, the budding leaves…could it be that winter is finally over for good this time?
Noah has been climbing trees for years while Cooper watched. Lately, he has been wanting to climb too, but just can’t get up there (not that I mind…I am not the biggest fan of the tree climbing). Today we were playing in the front yard and Noah started climbing the big pear tree so Cooper ran over to the willow tree and was able to get some footing and get up into the tree. Granted he was only about 5 feet above the ground, but you would think he had made it to the top of the tallest tree. He was so proud to finally be able to climb like Noah.
Today Noah and I went to the park while Cooper was at school. We checked out the new basketball facility and then walked around the lake together. It was a beautiful morning and it felt great to be out walking. Noah loves it here so much…loves working out on the outdoor exercise equipment, walking the path, throwing rocks in the lake, and looking for interesting pieces of nature. We really need to do this more often. It is good for us both.
While I was out buying groceries today these beautiful flowers came. They were from my best friend from high school, Lynne. We have been best friends for 25 years and our birthdays are only 10 days apart. She lives about 250 miles away so we don’t get to see each other very often. I miss her so much and it is still so nice to know that she was thinking about me.
Noah learned to ride his bike about 4 years ago, but he never got completely confident riding all alone before the winter came and then it was too cold for him to ride. When spring came again, he got back on the bike but at one point he took a big fall and decided that he didn’t want to ride any more because he was worried he would get hurt again. The bike was hung up in the garage and all but forgotten, until today when Noah said he wanted to ride it again. Just like the old saying says, you never forget how to ride a bike. He got on and took right off down the road, like the years of not riding had never happened.
Today was my 40th birthday. I really didn’t want a big celebration, so Dwight bought me a cake with ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the candles and took us to Chili’s for a nice birthday dinner.
I cannot believe that I am actually old enough to say that I am forty, but if you do the math, apparently it’s true. It seems like I was just surprised to be turning 30 and pregnant with Noah, waiting to become a first-time mom. I hope that the next ten years are as full of happiness as the last ten have been.
BTW, I stood over the cake to get this photo and I can definitely say that 40 candles put out a lot of heat! WOW!
Cooper picked up these glasses at the dollar store this weekend and has been wearing them everywhere. He calls it his “disguise”. Bet you didn’t even recognize him!!!
It’s hard to believe another season has come and gone, but it is already time for the basketball awards ceremony. Noah has completed 6 seasons of basketball, most of which he had Dad for his coach. Noah, you had a great season and we are so proud of you.
Cooper…hang in there…next year you’re up!
Once again the craziness of north GA weather was doing its thing. Less than three days after the snow melted it was now 75 degrees again and a perfect day to go to the park for some fun in the sun. We were there over 2 hours and the boys had a really great time getting some of their energy out.
Tonight was Dad’s Desert Night at Cooper’s school. He was so excited to have Dwight to himself for a couple of hours. They dressed in their favorite sports shirts and enjoyed a night of desert and fellowship with all of the other kids and dads. A fun evening for both of them.
We are big humidifier users in our house…we have them in every bedroom during the winter and when anyone is sick. However, when Cooper was little he was terrified of his. He didn’t like the little light it had on the front and he HATED the noise it made. I didn’t know what we were going to do when he got sick, because it would completely freak him out to take one into his room.
One day while I was shopping I saw this aquarium humidifier and asked Cooper if he would like to have an aquarium in his room. He was so excited and it completely did the trick. No more crying and whining. He actually asked to have it on all the time.
Now it is still part of Cooper’s nightly bedtime routine. I don’t know what we will do if it ever stops working.
Tonight was taco night and Cooper jumped right in to help me cook. He took apart all of the taco shells, lined them up on the pan, and put them in the oven (with just a little help from Mom). He and Noah always love being able to help with dinner.
Monday nights are trash night and the boys each have their chores to do. Noah is responsible for getting all of the trash cans emptied and he has to “scoo the poo”, as he calls it (scoop the cat pans). Cooper’s job is to get the little store bags and replace all of the bags in the trash cans.
They still hate it, but gradually they are learning that it takes all of us to keep the house running and we each have to do our part.
Even though it was 70 degrees yesterday, this morning it started snowing, for only the second time since Cooper was born. And for the very first time since he was born, Cooper got to see snow stick on the ground and play in it. The boys were both so excited and surprised. Because the weather in north GA is so crazy and unpredictable, we have learned not to tell the boys when there is a mention of the possibility of snow in the forecast to avoid the big let down when it doesn’t happen (as is usually the case), so they had no idea it was even a possibility, especially since it had been so warm the day before.
It snowed all day and we ended up with 3-4” on the ground…just enough to have fun, to look pretty, and to feel like it snowed (and for Daddy to get to take a snow day). It stayed on the ground for a couple of days, but by the end of the week it was right back up in the mid-to-high 70’s again. Crazy GA weather!!!
After Noah’s basketball game today we did some grocery shopping. Cooper grabbed his kid-sized buggy and his balloon and was ready to shop!
Noah is still working on the Renaissance artists and today he made a Renaissance medallion. We learned that medallions displaying a person’s personal design were worn by the wealthy and also by their staff, servants, and armies. He made his own medallion with his personal logo that he created, an “N” with a basketball.
I don’t know what it is about Chick-fil-A, but our family is absolutely hooked. For years now, the kids and I go there for lunch at least a couple of times a week and we sometimes go for dinner as a family. No matter how recently we’ve had Chick-fil-A, or how often, we never seem to tire of it. EET MOR CHIKUN!!!
Noah had his homeschool science class today. This quarter they have been studying animal classification and invertebrates. He and his partner were able to study several specimens, but they had the most fun watching this worm squirm around their box.
I was working in the kitchen and when I came out I managed to catch the boys playing Legos together in the hallway. They played like this for a long time. It really was a moment to catch.
With the spring-like weather we’ve been having off and on, our daffodils came up a couple of weeks earlier this year. I couldn’t resist going out to get a few to have in the house. I love them so much, with their sunny yellow centers. Come on spring!
