Photo Week: Day 5

Photo Week: Day 4

Photo Week: Day 3

Photo Week: Day 2

Photo Week: Day 1

As we head for some family fun I am going to share a photo a day. Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

8 hours

CT Science Center Homeschool Day!

We arrived at 9:00, right when they opened.  I think we were the second family there.

We left at 5:20, after they had closed. Yes we were the last ones to leave.

 A day filled with friends, water play, roller coaster building, Legos, experimenting, hurricanes, pinball, ski practice, ball runs and so much more. The theme was forces and motion so we attended a few interactive classes on those, but mostly spent  our day investigating on our own.  This was the first time we had ever been here. A VERY full day indeed. 8 hours to be exact.

 

Goodnight my friends.

little perks

One of the perks of joining the Co-Op that we did was that we get free admission to a children's museum. 

We have been to this museum numerous times over the past 7 years. I think I first discovered it when Will had just turned one.  

The boys were so excited to go this afternoon after classes. It had been several months since we had last been. We had the whole afternoon to play- the fun we would have. Or so I thought.  

What used to capture their attention for long periods of time no longer did. Will was done with every room within 15 minutes. I remember having to drag him out of each room so we could explore the next area. My heart began to ache as I realized how much my baby is growing up. 

Landon was content for longer but he would follow William wherever he went.  Within two hours we were ready to go home.   We'll need to find other museums with a broader spectrum of interests. Oh, the bittersweet feeling of knowing we most likely will not be returning here again.

my first handmade book

I am trying out some new crafting these days and have decided to try and make a few books for family members.

This is my first attempt and I thought it came out pretty good.

I used three sheets of nice drawing paper, a decorated scrapbook page that I cut to size and glued with adhesive. Then I bound it by making holes with an awl and then sewing with embroidery thread. Finally I added embellishments on the front, spelling out the recipients name. A very simple and quick gift but hopefully something that is useful.

Sunday Smiles

Homeschool Coop

We decided to join a coop for the Winter/Spring session. We started this past Tuesday and the boys were so excited. They are each taking 4 classes.

William:

Icky Sticky Science, Lego Building,Gym Games and Artist Trading Cards

Landon:

World History-Medieval Times, Lego Building, Arts and Crafts, and Artist Trading Cards

They both enjoyed all their classes and it was fun to meet some new friends.

I help Landon with two of his classes but then I get to have a few minutes to myself during the other two. Hopefully some time for knitting. Still have jackets that I have been working on for way to long.

decluttering

I am still trying to simplify and declutter. I have been working in the living room and dining room on our books. We LOVE books but sometimes you just need to sort through and organize and let go...

While I have been busy with this project, Landon has had hours of uninterrupted play and has created battles from the revolutionary war( thanks to Liberty Kids program). William has been busy listening to books on CD. He loves a good story. 

Then there has been a few hours spent outside...

Feeling very relaxed and ready to watch a movie and eat popcorn for dinner! (Eric is out for the night)

games: Battleship

I don't think this game needs much introduction. It's been around forever. But it is a great time to see the two of them having day long battles.  William is learning patience as Landon becomes better acquainted with his numbers and letters and then learning how to say them as a coordinate.

I even taught them to say "You sunk my battleship!"  Remember the commercials???

scrapbooking......by the boys

Today is our day to stay home and recuperate from our busy weekends. A day to relax, organize and play. I usually have an activity planned in my head that I would like to do with the boys if it seems right. But today they had their own plans, which was perfect. After spending time looking at my scrapbooks,(they wanted to see what exactly mommy did all weekend), they decided it was time for them to work in their books.  They were so excited to be able to crop, stick and write about their lives. I could never get the same amount of enthusiasm if I had made the decision of "we are scrapbooking now".  

 Remember my post last week about letting go. Well when I have days like today it totally reassures me that this it the way for us.  The boys were interested and excited about what they were doing and learning along the way.  I let go of what I had planned.  I went with the flow of the day and it was such a wonderful morning.

weekending: Mama's Retreat

Eric says it was baby steps, I say it was HUGE.  I went away this past weekend by myself for the first time ever since having the boys. I was seriously having second, third and fourth thoughts. I was suppose to leave on Friday so it would be two nights away. Eric took advantage of the time off however, and left me Thursday night to head up to Vermont with the boys and Gritty. So now I was going to be away from them for three nights. Plus, I was alone in the house for the first time. No one to keep me company--- not even Gritty.  This was a giant leap for me. I stayed up extremely late on Thursday so that I could fall asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. 

I woke up on Friday, had a quiet morning and then headed out for my retreat. It was going to be weekend of scrap booking. Something I so need to get caught up on and be inspired by again. It has been so long since I have done anything.  Right when I got to the the Inn I got set up and started. It felt awesome.  I was so excited to be preserving our family history once again.  I have been doing many digital scrapbooks but there is really something I just love about using my hands to create. It does take time but it is so well worth it.  And I so love how the boys enjoy looking through the albums over and over.  I am definitely going to try and figure out a way to do it more at home. We are just low on space. I keep visualizing my own studio(one day), but for now our dining room table and cabinet will have to do. 

After a long day of scrapping, I headed back to my room to read and get some rest. 

I have to say I did much better than I thought I would. It was nice to be focusing on something I love. Eric was great and would call me morning , noon and night so I could talk to the boys and him.  But it was awesome to come home and get the biggest hugs from my boys and "I missed Yous".