Semi-Spring Break

This week is when the rest of the county took off for Spring Break, so we sort of followed suit.  Sort of.  The weather turned super cold (just like last year's Spring Break) so since we were sitting at home chilling anyway, we couldn't help but do a school lesson and/or activity or two a day.  Throw in some read aloud books while we were chilling and some silent reading during Noah's quiet time every day and what you have is really only about half the week taken off when all was said and done.  Which meannnnnns, that next week when the weather is expected to turn gorgeous, we can indulge in the rest of our off-time that we didn't really redeem this week!  Semi-Spring Break rocks!

Although the weather was gloomy and cold, we did manage to squeeze in some play with buds and each other several times.  For starters, on Tuesday Noah had his good buddy Owen over for one last good and long playdate since Owen just happens to be moving out of town this weekend.

These two met back in Kindergarten and were in the same class again in first grade and, since his mother and I are friends, we have managed to get the boys together several times this year independent of school activities that we used to rely upon. 

 

Noah is already looking forward to having a friend that he can write to now and I look forward to using that in some writing activities very soon.  Always alert for a teachable moment!

Another day we tried our hands at soap carving to go along with a book Noah read about wood carving.   Noah lost interest pretty quickly when he realized how labor intensive it was.  And Anna summed it all up through tears and frustration after her own handiwork didn't pan out like she'd hoped, "I get it now!  Carving is NOT easy."  We settled for some YouTube carving videos after that instead.

Later in the week, we got the chance to hit up a playdate with a bunch of kiddos from my SAHMom's group.  This one had a Sports Clinic theme.  Anna was all about the soccer and football and kept at it longer than I thought she would. 

We mommas stayed huddled up and gabbing on the porch.  It was pretty cold, but we were willing to brave it for a chance to get out of the house at all during this chilly week.

Noah was all about the football and basketball.  I hardly saw him the whole time, but as long as I heard his resonant giggling above the crowd, I knew he was alive and well and enjoying all the friends to play with. :}

Group shot! The kid in the middle was the host for this event and, through eveyone's donations and bake sale purchases, was able to raise $200 for his cause ... donating money to the league to help kids whose families can't afford sports registration and such.

Anna's heart belonged to her buddies Selina and Keira once they showed up.  What a fun surprise!  She misses our Bible Study family big time in between meetings every month.

Noah squeezing in a few more hoops before we left ... and headed off to a friend's house for lunch.  Spring Break rocks!

The following day, another buddy, Cohen, stopped by for an hour while his mom, Karla, and I chatted it up.  And we hit the park that afternoon, too.  Beyond all that, imagine lots of Wii time and lots of Lego time and a couple Frozen viewings ...

and you have a well-spent Semi-Spring Break!  Grinning to myself that we get to roll it right on into next week, too, when the sun will actually be shining.  I love being the boss of my own school and getting to call the scheduling shots. :}

Fresh Air

I feel like I am suffocating when I don't have a good book to read ... or when I don't have a good book ready to read next.  So when I added another title today to my stack of books waiting for me to get to, I stepped back and grinned and exhaled in relief at the wordly wealth and literary wiggle room.   Ahhhh, fresh air.

Breathing deeply over here! 

Noah At Play

Noah's play obsession (not counting video games) is, hands-down, his Lego Chima Speedorz.

 Something about his buddies at co-op loving them that makes Noah love them, too. I snapped some shots of him at play yesterday.  I think he was amused that I was actually down on the floor with him.

He sets up the ramps and stunt stations with such care.

That's the speedor in his hand there.  I didn't manage to take a good shot of him launching them, but they are kinda like Beyblades, except the speedorz actually roll straight instead of spinning around and around.  And there is a cartoon series for Chima, too, that really gets Noah into character.

I just love the giant hole in his jeans.  That is so him at this age.  Wearing out the knees in EVERY pair of jeans he has.

More set up.

That tongue stickin' out is proof of how perfectly lined up he makes them. Precious.

Love the shape of his cutie pie mouth when he's making sound effects.

Love watching him at play!

Teach Them Diligently

This weekend I attended my first ever homeschool convention and it was ... well, it was a lot of things. Chiefly, it was a LOT of input and it was a worthwhile trip. This Teach Them Diligently conference happens in four cities a year, so naturally we took advantage of the Nashville location here at Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Conference Center.

We even splurged on a room to stay onsite and called it a "staycation" of sorts. Josh and the kids did their thing around the resort and Opry Mills Mall.  I did the conference thing.

Time flew! My feet hurt! And my brain is swollen from all the thoughts and sessions and vendors and talks and curriculum and BOOKS!

View looking up from our first of many meals on the Delta island of the resort.

A moment among MANY inside the vendor hall. 

During one of two sessions Josh attended, the kids and I explored the resort some more 

and dined on frozen yogurt 

while we stared at the mesmerizing fountains again.

Then, I indulged my two monkeys who just wanted to ride the escalators.  They did this for about 15 mins. 

Can't help but grin at them enjoying the simplest of pleasures.  Why did we bother with DisneyWorld again?

Pretty spots on our trek back to our room.

Waterfalls in the Cascades area of the resort.

Just such a cool vibe in every spot!

The second night there, we let the kids stay up WAY past bedtime to see the lighted fountain show they put on every night.

We managed to snag a seat right on the balcony for a better view.  

The water shoots up with such force during different portions of the show, you can feel the wind from it.  Pretty neat!

This was a good first convention experience for me and I already have my sights set on what I hear is the convention to beat all homeschool conventions in Cincinnati next year - Great Homeschool Conventions.  We've had that city on our must-see list for awhile, so we'll work in a family trip there in conjunction with the conference and hit a lengthy list of field-trip and other sight-seeing stops while in the area.  I would go this year, in fact, if we weren't gonna be strapped to afford the beach trip we just booked.  Eeek!  Looking forward to that, too!

Tiara Party MNO

Just some fun shots of a BUNCH of mom friends enjoying our second annual night with No Toddlers, Only Tiaras in tow.  It's a cute idea and it's caught on great, with talk already happening about what the the third party will be like next year. :) Vivian and Melissa, two sweet friends I love, planned it all and hosted it like pros.

The rest of us just got to enjoy the night with them

and with each other, of course.

It's actually kinda funny how much this gathering was like our kids' playdates - games, buddies, chatter, giggles, snacks, and dress-up!  Perfect combo. :}

Recipe: Spring Veggie Pizza

I took this appetizer to the "No Toddlers, Only Tiaras" MNO party and it was scarfed quickly by 30 women which made me grin proudly.  It is always so, so Yummy, so I am proud to have finally once made it myself.  Will be glad to make the next batch for my little family to enjoy as well.  Duh-lish!

Spring Veggie Pizza Appetizer

2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) refrigerated reduced-fat crescent dinner rolls

1 tub  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese

1/2 cup  MIRACLE WHIP Dressing

1 tsp.  dill weed

1/2 tsp.  onion powder

1 cup each chopped sugar snap peas and quartered cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup each sliced radishes, chopped yellow peppers, shredded carrots

3 green onions, chopped

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
UNROLL each package of dough into 2 rectangles. Press onto bottom and up sides of 15x10x1-inch pan, firmly pressing seams and perforations together to seal.
BAKE 11 to 13 min. or until golden brown; cool.
MIX reduced-fat cream cheese, dressing and seasonings until blended; spread onto crust. Top with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Kimmie tweaks:  I used regular mayo instead of Miracle Whip.  And I used broccoli and cauliflower instead of radishes and yellow peppers.

Kimmie + Tiara

I ran a killer marathon ... of errands today.  And then I actually ran, too.  Like, real running which I haven't done in weeks because my dumb knee is dumb.  So far, so good though ... But that is not why I am here.  I am here to post a rare pic of me with some bling that I picked up on one of my errands today ... a tiara, of all things!

 Because really, when do you ever get to see Kimmie in something like that?

Anna was proud of me in a tiara.  She'll be thrilled on Sunday when I pass it on to her, too.

But first, I must make an appearance in said tiara on Saturday at a friend's second annual "No Toddlers, Only Tiaras" MNO Party.  :}

Three Five

I turned 35 in the wee hours of this morning after a sweetly sunny weekend where the kids and Josh went out of their way to celebrate the occasion no matter how much I kept saying that it just wasn't a big deal.  The cake they made together WAS a big deal however.  4 layers high, it was too tall for our cake carrier even.  Ha!

I Shall Not Want

The song is a little slow, but so beautiful.  It's the words, though, that I adore and find so true and so challenging.

I Shall Not Want by Audrey Assad

From the love of my own comfort

From the fear of having nothing

From a life of worldly passions

Deliver me O God

From the need to be understood

From the need to be accepted

From the fear of being lonely

Deliver me O God

Deliver me O God

And I shall not want, I shall not want

When I taste Your goodness I shall not want

When I taste Your goodness I shall not want

From the fear of serving others

From the fear of death or trial

From the fear of humility

Deliver me O God

Deliver me O God

And I shall not want, I shall not want

When I taste Your goodness I shall not want

No, I shall not want, I shall not want

When I taste Your goodness I shall not want

When I taste Your goodness I shall not want

Anna's Art Factory

Anna is busy as ever on her art and notes on a day-to-day basis.  She is in the details and will spend much time finishing up her work which always amazes me because she is otherwise a VERY distractible little girl.  I love that she loves her projects! I love how she applies herself.

The girl has literally taught herself to write.  I adore each new note we get and pat myself on the back for getting so good at reading her invented spellings.  This one is a card she gave me weeks ago to hold onto until my upcoming birthday.  It says, "To Kimberly, From a girl very special to you, Happy Birthday." I even love her stamp.  I meant it when I said she is in the details!

Here she put our address - 167 Wimbledon Ct. Gallatin Tennessee.  And for some reason she added the following instruction to "shine bright and beautiful."  Entirely precious!

A note she wrote for her daddy one day:  I love you because you always help me feel better and kiss me goodnight, daddy. On Father's Day.  Love." And on the right she says, "Who is it for?  To Daddy." 

In February, Josh read-aloud to Noah and Anna the first book of Harry Potter and they would watch the corresponding movie scenes after every few chapters.  The kids were ALL about it and it has been really exciting for them to share with him.  After finishing the first book last week, Anna created a picture book companion of her own, complete with captions and binding (tape.  lots of tape).

Harry Potter.  

Her caption at the bottom blew my mind.  It says, "Illustrated by Anna."  Yes, the child used the word ILLUSTRATED.  Word list of other words she impresses me with coming soon.

Ron Weasley.

Invisibility Cloak.

Magic Hat.  And then she attempted to write out a spell, bless her heart.  "Wingardium leviosa."

My personal favorite - Hagrid.

Harry's glasses and wand.  The end. ♥

This little masterpiece she completed while Noah and I did school on Monday.  I realize I am biased as her proud mother, but her curly-q writing impressed me, too.  "God's love to you.  He is the holy King."

And her latest work of art ... from yesterday.  Princess Diamond.  

Her attached post-in note reads, "Diamond loves things that have diamonds on it and she loves things that ?????"  I will have to have her help me on that last word.  Be back with the correction later on today.

Noah, close to 8 years old, still draws people with heads and legs only, so Anna's fully proportioned bodies and details down to the painted fingernails and belts and crowns and shoes and all always cause me to heave a giant sigh of relief.  Just sayin'.