Mother's Day 2013

I'm the luckiest mom in the world! ❤

I was served breakfast in bed. Oatmeal with mints. Later in the day, I was taken out for Mexican food and a couple of beers.

Minecraft

I hosted the first of (hopefully) many Minecraft play days today. The boys had such a good time and were thrilled to play in the same game with their friends. What a blast!

Fort Worth Zoo

I took the boys to the Fort Worth zoo with our co-op two weeks ago. A cold front has just blown in and it was on and off drizzly but we braved the weather and we're so glad that we did. We ended up having a great time with all of our friends.

Spider Web

My little spiders in a spiderweb.

Nutria and Ducks

The boys had an adventure with friends yesterday at the park. There were half a dozen nutria swimming around in the water and they weren't scared of humans at all. At one point they came up on the bank towards the kids and I was scared they were going to bite them.
There were also dozens of ducks and so many cute baby ducks. It was so windy out but it didn't stop the fun at all.

Breakfast on our deck. Beautiful morning!

OMG! Carson is most definitely my son. If you can read his answer you, will see that his answers are getting snarky.

Fort in the woods

Instead of official 'school' today, I surprised the boys by borrowing a saw and using all of the scrap wood we had to to build the fort they have been planning. Once I finished it, we moved it to the woods next to us. They're planning to use twigs and brush to make a roof and walls.

Writing Club

During park day this week, these kids got together and formed a writing club. Without any parental guidance, they have collaborated very well together. They created an entire story plot and have each added something special to it. Within a matter of days, they already have several chapters put together. They hope to finish it, get a publisher and sell it soon. Start checking for it soon at your nearest bookstore!

Muffin time

I'm smelling the yummy banana muffins bake right now. I love when I take time to bake with my boys. Time well spent.

Scooter Skip Counting

This week Cameron's math is all learning time. Although he's been skip counting for a while, he needed some reinforcement on counting by fives to learn the minute hand. Here's a fun active way I thought might work.

Hanging with my peeps

The boys having a good time with friends at the park. Beautiful day!

Orange Belt!

The boys earned their orange belts in Tae Kwon Do today. They are so excited! And I am so proud!

Monopoly

Afternoon game fun. Just me and my boys!

Visual Math

The boys are both doing so well with school.  I feel fortunate everyday that I am able to homeschool them.  They get so much out of it..socially and academically!

Mary Poppins!

I took the boys to see the Mary Poppins performance at Music Hall in Fairpark. What a great show! It was such an set and Mary flew around the stage. We met up with some friends who we sat with and the boys had a great time.

St. Patrick's day 2013

One of our homeschool groups had a St. Patrick's Day party complete with shamrock hunt. The boys had a great time with their friends and although it was super windy, it wasn't too cold.

Valentines 2013

I didn't take many photos, but here are a few from our Valentines Day. We received a special delivery with a heart-shaped authentic Chicago deep dish pizza pie. It was so yummy!!
We celebrated Valentines and our valentine exchange at Going Bonkers. I didn't take any photos of the party. I only have this one of Cameron with their valentine rocket box. As in past years, there were about 40 kids that showed up and they had a blast. I had supplies and puffy stickers and the kids played and made valentines. It's one of their favorite annual events. We also had our homeschool co-op on and I needed to pack their lunch. I tried to make it a little special with heart-shaped cut-out sandwiches.

Read Across America

Celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday with friends and fun. Thanks Erin and Nikki for putting this together!

Who's this big kid?

Waiting for his dental cleaning, I looked over at my 9 year-old and this is what I see. When did he get so grown?

Planting our seeds

In their Valentine's baskets, I gave each boy a seed starting kit. This morning we sowed our seeds. Glad to have good natural light in our house. Hope they sprout!

Little Chef

Here's my little chef making the family breakfast. I love this kid!

Chores

These chore charts are working so well! The boys are now responsible for their own laundry. Carson is 100% independent: wash, dry, fold & put away! Cameron did most of his work, but I helped him fold. Now, who's going to catch me up on my laundry?!

Now that's a Valentines box!

Looking for boxes to make Valentine box at Family Dollar and came across this Super Bowl display. The boys were thrilled when they said that we could take it. They decided to make a rocket. This thing is bigger than I am! I don't think we'll have any trouble fitting our Valentines into the box this year!

Homemade Chore Charts

After recently rationing media time to four 15 minute tickets a day, I was reminded how well kids respond when they understand what expectations we have of them.
I made these homemade chore charts today. I just used materials that I had: cardboard, stickers, colored masking tape and clothespins. I told them they can earn four extra 15 media tickets a day after they finish their chores. They were workhorses! I tried to make the chart simple and clear and they seemed to appreciate how easy it was to use and what was expected of them. Score 1 for the mommy team!