Museum Day

Yesterday we traveled across town to join 50 other homeschoolers and their parents at the science museum for classes and activities.  Each month the boys take two or three classes in different subjects and usually another activity.  This month we went to the planetarium for our activity, which is always interesting. It's a fun day, and Luke and Kyle really look forward to spending the day with their friends.  They even have lunchtime and recess, which was always Kyle's favorite part of the school day.  

 The kids are divided into age groups for their classes, so Kyle doesn't get to be in the pictures.  Luke's favorite class was Polymer science this time.  They learned about the polymers that are used in diapers and other things to absorb liquid.  Here he is carefully measuring Sodium Polyacrylate into a cup.  After that he added water to form a gel.  Later they measured how much water a diaper would absorb.  It was quite a bit!  

I love it when they wear safety glasses! 

Morning time

Woke up this morning to our bed being invaded by two little boys in feetie pajamas.  Who doesn't love little boys in feetie pajamas? They were cute and snuggly for about five minutes.  Then Max's pillow somehow flew across the bed and knocked over the water glass and table lamp.  So it's going to be that kind of day.
Now everyone is out of bed, eating cereal, and the floor has been freshly mopped. We're off to the natural science museum for our monthly museum day with other home school families.  Let's hope no one breaks anything there!   

Easy, healthy, and yummy

Just to make up for lost time, here is a very good, foolproof winter recipe.  I used lean ham, and this was a delicious stew that tasted like it had been simmering all day.  Which is a wonderful thing to know how to do on gymnastics day when everyone is hungry RIGHT NOW, and you just got in the door.  YUM.

Fast White-Bean Stew 

Yield: Makes 4 servings (or about 6 with kids) Active Time: 10 min Total Time: 20 min Ingredients: 2 large garlic cloves, chopped 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups) 1 (1/2-pound) piece baked ham (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 (5-ounce) bag baby romaine, chopped spinach or baby arugula (10 cups loosely packed) 8 (3/4-inch-thick) slices baguette Directions: Cook garlic in 1/4 cup oil in a 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Coarsely cut up tomatoes in can with kitchen shears, then add (with juice) to garlic in oil. Stir in broth, beans, ham, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in greens and cook until wilted, 3 minutes for romaine or spinach or 1 minute for arugula. While stew is simmering, preheat broiler. Put bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until golden, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Serve stew with toasts. We skipped the toast, as I had some left over cornbread from another meal.   This one was a keeper.

December Daily

I'm blatantly copying my dear friend Jennie, and I'm going to try to start back up the blog by posting most every day in December.  Of course it is already December 8th, so I'm a bit behind to begin.  That is in keeping with my whole blogging record though, so I don't feel too bad about it.

We had new laminate floors installed this week to replace the old carpet, and I really love having solid floors again.  You can see them in the picture below.  I'm most happy to have the run of the house again.  We were out of the house to avoid the installers all day Monday, and I need to send a big thank you to Cindy for letting us take over her house for a few hours.  Then we were trapped in the kitchen and breakfast area Tuesday morning.  That is not enough room for 3 bored boys, one concerned dog, and a mom that is desperately trying to keep everyone occupied.  However now we have nice floors.   We also have the entertainment of watching the dog slide across the floor and careen into the furniture.  I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon, she just forgets sometimes when she's excited.  

The boys love art time, especially Luke.  He is always ready to come up with a new art project.  Here is a picture of one of my favorite ones from last month, pre haircuts.

That one was really fun.  We each used wax pastels to trace all sizes of circles in different colors.  Next we used watercolors to paint the back grounds one solid color.  Then I just glued them all together on one page.  We've done a similar project with fish that was cool too.  The boys really liked how the wax shows through the watercolor so well.  

May your days be merry and bright!
Kelly

Max the messy eater

My sweet friend Cindy, who thinks I know what I'm doing, asked me how I streamline the baby meal time and mess process.  It's a funny coincidence that I just took these pictures of Max after his morning cheerios and yogurt. 

 Yogurt is good for the skin, right? 

 I don't think I can give her any advice about this subject! 

Beautiful Day

We had an amazing day today.  I really love this time of year, mostly because the weather is perfect.  Also though, we are anticipating the holiday season and we have gotten into a groove with our schoolwork.  It's nice when it all is effortless and predictable.  Then we have time to think of fun things to do when we are done with our work.  Like go on a picnic and feed the ducks!  We LOOOOVE to go to the park and feed the ducks.  It's one of our favorite things in the whole world.  We even have names for most of the ducks that have distinguishable appearances.  They are Gooseneck, Gingersnap, Domino, Oreo, Little, Waggers, and Flamingo.  What I love most about this is that Kyle and Luke came up with all these names for very specific reasons.   Everytime we go they retell stories about the previous times we've visited and things we've seen.  Remember the time when the ducklings jumped off the wall.... remember the time when the catfish bit Gooseneck and made him flap and trumpet for a long time... remember when... it goes on forever. 

We were all very excited to welcome a new batch of ducklings today, and I snapped a picture.

We also had a lovely afternoon and dinner.  After dinner we decided to have hot chocolate and read stories by the fire before bedtime.  It was really nice, and one of those nights where Luke and Kyle were both listening to the story and snuggly, instead of squabbling.  I feel like supermom today, so I have to document that while it lasts.  Probably until breakfast tomorrow! 

Bay house

We went to see the bay house this weekend, and had a nice day sitting by the water. 

Kyle and Luke

Playing on the porch

Looking for fish on the pier

One advantage of home school

Labor Day weekend

We went to Canyon Lake for Labor Day weekend, and took the boat out to an island in the lake.  My parents dog Jamie had a lot of fun running around the island without a leash! 

Kyle had fun jumping off the back of the boat into the lake.

Don't worry, we didn't let him drive the whole time. 

Since we were in the area, we went to visit Memaw and my aunts at Lake Travis.  We got to go out on a boat there too!  We did a lot of swimming, and it was nice to see the family.   

Kyle, Memaw, and Luke

Luke and Kyle found the toys

Max had fun running around on the porch. 

Fun weekend!

Summer adventures

Kyle and I have been reading Shakespeare stories, and as part of our studies we learned about stage fighting and made fake blood.  Kyle and Luke had a sword fight with the blood in the back yard.  Kyle is Macbeth, although he seems a little chipper for someone who has been stabbed. 

Of course Luke had to try it to, but he mostly thought it was gross and gooey.  We didn't get a picture because we had to clean up immediately! 

Kyle and Luke also decided to make lunch for me, without any assistance from me.  Here they are with our lunch of leftover enchiladas and smores.  Well, actually they're just graham crackers and chocolate, because we didn't have any marshmallows. 

They are sweet but very silly!

Out on the boat

We went out on the boat with Grampa when we visited this summer. 

Kyle and Luke helping load up the boat.

Max stayed on dry land with Grams this time. 

Kyle and Grampa

Kyle in the tube

Luke and Jeff in the tube

Swimming in the lake!



Father's Day!

I just found these pictures when I was looking for something else, and I have to share the awesome crafts the boys made for Jeff.  He was out of town the week before father's day, so we made him a lot of crafts and then put them all together on one poster board for father's day.  It was really fun, and Kyle and Luke did a really good job making all the sea creatures.  Kyle especially is really good about helping his brother with the parts that are tricky.  I love to see them helping each other.  Here's the finished product:

As you can tell, I found a website that has a lot of neat paper plate crafts. 

The proud creators:

The subtle ways I am warping my children

After finishing his morning apple, Luke asked me, "Mom, since I just had something healthy, can I have something unhealthy?  Like a granola bar?" 

Of course I let him, but now I'm wondering what I said to make him think that granola bars are unhealthy.  These are even the old school crunchy oats and honey granola bars without chocolate chips or anything like that. 

Then a short time later, he asked if he could also have a rice krispie treat, which we don't have.  I looked in the pantry, and he's BEGGING me for a rice cake.  This is the emergency snack I keep on hand for when I shouldn't really be having a snack. 

Please don't feel sorry for my children, I do let them eat real junk food sometimes.  =)  

Dinos at the zoo!

I've been doing a lot of painting and other house projects this week, so the boys were getting pretty tired of playing around the house.  We decided to remedy this by going to the zoo to see all our faves, plus the new dino area.   

All in all it was a hit with the boys, especially Max.  The dinosaur models moved and made sounds, which he thought was fascinating. 

The T rex was Kyle's favorite, he looked very menacing.   

The last one randomly sprayed water at passersby, so it was Luke's favorite.

We also got to spend some quality time in the children's zoo and the big cat area.  Everyone took really nice, long naps after lunch, and I got the upstairs bathroom painted!  It was much quicker without stopping to occupy the kiddos. 

Fun times

I really like my new camera phone, because I have my camera with me most of the time now.  So I can snap a quick picture when the boys decide to arm themselves with belts and foam swords.  Kyle wouldn't smile because they are about to battle and that is "serious."  They crack me up. 

Anyways, yesterday was a fun day of no school because we were going to Olivia's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese.  Luke and Kyle have been counting down the days to ChuckECheese day for about a week.  I guess I should take them there more, but then it probably wouldn't seem so special, right? 

They had a great time and completely wore themselves out.  Max is big enough now to chase the big boys around and play in the toddler area.  He had a lot of fun with the Bob the builder "ride" and must have sat in it for 10 minutes straight. 

Happy Birthday Olivia!

She is just so adorable. 

The boys had a fantastic nap afterwards, and I was able to get the downstairs cleaned up and pack a picnic for dinner.  Jeff worked late, so the boys and I had a picnic at the neighborhood splash park.  I love days like this in the summer.  The mosquitoes are even getting a bit better.

Happy Friday to all!

Laundry Robots

I would love a laundry robot.  I wish someone would please invent a machine to sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away clothes.  It would greatly improve my life. 

So far, all I've got is boys pretending to be robots with the laundry baskets. 

Luke the laundry robot.

Max, the laundry pirate.

Kyle's Fencing Camp

Kyle recently learned fencing at a camp in Houston.  He had a great time, but came home exhausted and hungry every day. 

I guess this means I've completely given up on my naive conviction to raise my boys without weapon toys.  We didn't have them when Kyle was little, but he made everything into a sword, bomb, or gun anyways.  I guess it's the testosterone? 

Anyways, Kyle had a fantastic time, and he's obsessed with fencing now. 

Favorite Pictures from May and June

Uncle Andrew got a basketball goal for the boys, and they LOVE it.  It is a lot of fun, and I love that they wear themselves out so fast playing.  We have a lot of fun family time out in the driveway. 

Also in May, I hosted Jodie's baby shower.  It happened to be the day that Alejandro and Wes finally came home from the hospital.  The day was a little hectic for Jodie, but we were all happy to see her. 

Max had fun entertaining all the guests.

The big kids played outside, where they could be more noisy.

Our big event this month was Jeff's graduation from his MBA program.  We were all so proud of him, and so happy that he is done with his degree!!! 

The next day, Jeff and I left for an anniversary cruise,

which was the best Christmas present ever. 

  

While we were gone, the boys stayed with Grams and Grampa.  They had a lot of fun too!

Kyle crossed over to the next cub scout rank, Webelos.

We also had a fun trip to the art museum with baby Evelyn and her mommy.

Luke had fun most of the time, just not at this particular part. 

Our month wouldn't have been complete with out a trip to the zoo.