quiet in the house

There's been a quietness around here the past few days. I've been relaxing about what needs to get done and just going with the flow. I am content with what we do throughout the day.  There's been lots of reading, playing and loving.  We've been enjoying one another's company.  We been trying new things and changing things up.  Whatever works at the moment is good enough for us now.  There's a peacefulness that our life is good and all is well. 

Sunday Smiles: little builders

Earlier this week when it was still raining we took all of our wooden kits that we had been saving "for a rainy day" and hammered and painted until we had some pretty neat things.

baseball game

We decided to join in on a group homeschooling event. A minor league baseball game.  Luckily the rain held out for most of the game. There was a delay at the bottom of the 8th.

Since we were part of a group we got to go down onto the field before the game and unfurl the giant flag. It was pretty cool.  The boys thought it was awesome to be on the field.

 I wasn't able to get a picture of the whole group, since I was under the flag, but if you click here, you can see what it looked like.

 Such a fun night!

things about me: jobs

I thought I would share some more about me every once in awhile.

High School

• managed a yogurt store
• babysat for several families

College Summers

• lifeguard at our town beach

Freshly Graduated

• taught outdoor education to middle and high school students
• substituted in public schools
• taught nursery school
• worked at Crate and Barrel

Newly Marrried

• taught pre-school
• substitued in public schools
• nannied
• waitressed

After One Year of Marriage

• finally got my own classroom- teaching first grade- for five years

BEST JOB YET and the one I plan to keep forever

•  mother and homemaker

 *beach where I was a lifeguard and met Eric*

sweet sewing

We are still working hard on making many of our gifts these days. So of course the boys had some great ideas for their sweet little cousin.

They both picked out the colors, helped prepare the fabric, sew it, and design the patterns themselves.

William drew his own creature and then we cut it out of pieced fat quarters.  I just love the quirkiness of it!  There are arms- you just can't see them.

For Landon, we pieced together quilt squares, which he made patterns out of for every side.  I love how it actually looked like a cube. 

We had such fun sewing together and they were again so proud of the results.  My machine has been hiding in the corner for awhile now but I am definitely taking it our more. We have so many ideas to make!

weekend partying

There was some fun going on this past weekend as we celebrated the our cousin's first birthday!

 Happy Birthday sweet girl! We are so glad we got to be a part of the festivities!

Sunday Smiles

Early morning Lego building with Dad.  Fun!

Loving the Library: part 2

On yet another trip to the library during the many rainy days that we have had during May we learned how to use the library catalog. It was not a conscience decision on my part. The boys were just interested in finding a certain book- which actually is a series.  They are non-fiction books with 52 different titles.  So we looked up and discovered our hometown library had 3 pages full of them.  William learned where to find the call numbers, if the book is checked in and what branch it was in. Then we went on the hunt for the books. Landon was working on his numbers as William figured out how the order went.  We spent two hours there looking for these books. 

The library is such a great tool for so many reasons!

Now what were the books that we were searching for?

They are called You Wouldn't Want to Be.... and then they are about some person in History.   The boys LOVE them. 

We happened upon them a few months ago but after a few searches online I discovered that they are  highly praised by many homeschoolers.  I love when things like that just fall into place.

These are what we currently have but will be searching for more at other libraries as soon as we are done with these.

painted pots

We had our last art class this week. This was one of the boys' favorite classes we have taken.  We decided to paint pots for our instructors and added a pretty plant.  The boys were thrilled with how excited their teachers were to receive the gifts. 

owl pelletts

So finally after seeing owl pellets over a month ago we got some of our own and spent the morning disecting them.

The boys thought it was pretty cool and we found more than one animal in each. (rodents and shrews)

We also learned about the food chain and names of different bones.

Pretty cool activity for the day.

loving the library:part 1

Last week we attended our very first used curriculum fair. It was also a tag sale. I went to sell our stuff.  We had lots of games, arts and crafts and books from my teaching days. 

I was doing fine until the crowds started to slow down. The boys were off playing with new friends and so what was there to do. I began walking in circles looking at all the curriculum.  Being a "retired" school teacher I can get caugth up in books. I mean all these programs looked neat and each person had SO many of them.  The old self doubt began to take hold of me.  Instead of just going back to my seat and knitting- I kept looking. My brain started thinking maybe I should be using something.  That night after I had gone to bed I woke once again very late- 2:00am- and sat at the computer doing research on all sorts of homeschool curriculums. I was ready to buy something.  I would wait a day or two I told myself.

Monday afternoon, an unplanned trip to the library happened.  I browsed the shelves.  And came home with two bags full of books.

I've spent the past two nights reading through them. Some for a second time.

I am so glad I waited before purchasing any curriculums.  I know we learn best through just living our lives. I also know I have these amazing resources available to me.  There is just so much to use from the library that I don't want to be stuck with just one program. What if  we try it out and don't like it.  Hey, I just return it.  We can always try it again at a later date- with no cost obligation.  And they really are pretty neat.  We are going try some out this summer.

These are just a few of the many wonderful books that we have found at the library.  


I really am loving the library.  Next time your there browse your shelves for awhile. You never know what you may find.

listening to laughter

Eric had jury duty to day. He spent the day waiting at the court house.  The boys and I kept wondering if he was going to be picked and .. he was. He has to sit in  on a civil trial sometime next week.  Although the day was long for him while waiting, it made for an early arrival at home.  4:30!

The boys were thrilled. There was backgammon play, a trip to the Dr's to be fixed up, and dinner as a family. Yeah!

While I was cleaning up after dinner the boys headed upstairs for games and books.  I loved listening to the laughter trickling down the stairs.  It made my heart swell. This is exactly what  all the boys needed to break up the week of rain and long hours. In a way I am kinda glad Eric got chosen for jury duty.  Court hours may be more consistent and we may have a few days of early nights.  What a joy it will be!

We also got a great surprise in the mail today.  The boys received a new costume from our seamstress.....um, I mean Grammy.  They LOVE them. Thanks so much for all the hard work.  This also generated quite a few laughs.

 Only Landon was in the posing mood today. I am sure there will many more photo ops with Will.

Have a great night and listen to the laughter.