My Family Life

Carson is Here!

2012-01-25T13:20:00.000-06:00

Carson arrived on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 2:19am.

On Wednesday, January 18th I had my Dr. appointment in the morning. The Dr said Carson didin't look like he would be here in the next couple of days so I planned to have a Dr. appointment for that following Monday to talk about induction. My original due was January 27th.

Later that day I decided that me and the kids should go for a short walk to the mailbox. Hoping that I could walk the baby out. So around 3:55pm we made it to the mailbox and I heard a pop and then my water broke.

We arrived at the hospital around 5pm because I had to wait for Aaron to come home from work and for Mee-Maw to come pick up the kids. We got to the hospital and they ask 101 questions and then they checked me and I was only 1cm. Pitocin was added and then before I new it I was 3cm and got an epidural. Epidural worked great until I reached 8cm. I believe I was 10cm around 1ish. I had to wait for the Dr to get there which felt like forever, it was only 10 minutes. I pushed for 45 minutes. I had a hard time pushing him in the beginning because the nurse lowered my potocin when we were waiting for the Dr. to get there. She forgot to increase it when I started pushing. So half way through the pushing they increased it and then it took me 15 minutes to push him out.

I am nursing him. As soon as he came out he took about 3 tries to latch on and he stayed there for 40 minutes. Neither one of my kids latched on very well at the hospital. Caden had to use the shield and Hannah never nursed long enough to get full. This little guy nurses very well considering he is tongue tied. Which means the little piece if skin that is under the tongue that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is too close to the end of the tongue. It can possibly interfere with nursing, but he seems to be doing well.

Overall I had a great pregnancy and birth. I did not tear which helps healing much nicer.

Oh, and did I mention I have another perfect angel to add to our family!

Pregnancy at 36 Weeks

2012-01-03T11:58:00.001-06:00

Ok, so here is a picture of me, my huge belly and my sister-n-law. When I looked at this picture I did not realize how big my belly is. I was 35 weeks pregnant here.

I went to the Dr. today, my Dr. was not there so I saw another Dr. which was very thorough. I still like my Dr. though!

He said Carson is about 6 1/2 lbs and I am about 1cm dilated and 30% effaced. There has not been much progress since last week so he does not think baby Carson will be here this week. The good news is that I am not strictly bed ritten I just need to take it easy until this Friday. I will be 37 weeks then, that is considered full term.

I am so glad that Carson is deciding to wait. I would much rather him be in my tummy as long as he needs so he will be a good eater. Hannah was born at 39 weeks and Caden was born at 37 1/2 weeks so who knows when he will be here. I can't wait to see what he looks like since Hannah is blonde hair blue eyes and Caden is brown hair brown eyes.

Pregnancy

2011-12-29T11:09:00.001-06:00

I will be 36 weeks tomorrow. Yesterday I got put on bed rest.:( The best part is that it is only for 1 week.!:) I was on bed rest with Caden for 2-3 weeks and Hannah was 1 1/2 months. This pregnancy is 1 week, so I have no complaints.

Aaron will be off until Monday so that is a big help! I am so excited to see Carson! This is my last pregnancy, so I am so excited to complete our family!

I will not be posting until after the baby has arrived so be on a look out for baby Carson's arrival!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T08:48:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve we celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. Boy, do they have a lot of gifts!!

Before we opened gifts I read What God Wants for Christmas.

Caden was excited about his Lightning McQueen slippers Nonna and Paw-Paw got him. Hannah got Hello Kitty Slippers.

Virgadamo Family photo

Virgadamo Family photo with Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw Dimicelli.

This was the face I got at 6:30am to open presents from Santa! :)

They are sooooo excited!

Christmas morning. Santa gifts, the best gift of all was in the back yard. Santa brought them a trampoline!!! Caden kept saying that was the best surprise ever!

Coming in to see what Santa brought them at 6:30am!

Princess!

Caden got a track.

Oh, and the best part, the trampoline!

Letter C/Christmas

2011-12-15T08:10:00.000-06:00

Mary Shares her Good News Luke 1:39-56. We made whispering tubes from Hubbards Cubbard. I had the kids whisper God Loves you and some other things to each other.

We watched some Christmas songs on You Tube.

Caden did a story sequence of gingerbread baking from Making Learning Fun.

They both sorted C and G sounds from Starfall.

Our color of the month is green and Hannah colored the things that were green in her picture from Sing, Spell, Read and Write PreK. We also sing the green song.

Our shape of the month is stars. I had Hannah sort different shaped stars.

This was also from Hubbards Cubbard. I read John the Baptist is Born Luke 1:57-80. The black dots are sin. The zig zag line is us choosing the wrong path.

Inside was a straight road and when we follow that path we have Jesus in our heart.

Roll a reindeer from Making Learning Fun.

Letter C play doh mat.

Angel shape count from Making Learning fun.

The kids sang Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas in our Preschool Co-op Group. It was so cute!

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem. Anticipation of the Light of the World. Luke 2:1-5. So we made candle sticks from Hubbards Cubbard.

Fun Times

2011-12-15T07:52:00.000-06:00

Caden has really been into Legos lately. He built this one all by himself he calls it Robot.

This girl insisted on me getting these pajamas for her at the store. Hannah would love to be a baby all over again if she could! lol

Silly girl!

Caden doing what he does best! Filling up his trucks with dirt. My little worker!

Hannah made mud pies! Don't you just love how she added decoration? There are flowers and grass! Too cute!

Baby Jesus is Born!

2011-12-15T07:48:00.000-06:00

The day of Caden's Birthday party he drew this picture of Baby Jesus in the manger with Mary on the left and Joseph on the right. The 2 things outside of the stable are gifts for Jesus. He did this all by himself. Love it!

Happy Birthday Jesus

2011-12-15T07:45:00.000-06:00

We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus with our Homeschool Playdate Group.

All About Reading Giveaway

2011-12-13T20:10:00.000-06:00

Go over to Spell Outloud Homeschool and check out her giveaway of All About Reading!

Caden's 5th Birthday

2011-12-10T15:13:00.001-06:00

My little boy had his 5th birthday party!:) I can't believe he is getting so big so fast.

He has been counting down the days since November 15th! Caden had such a wonderful day with all his friends. I want to say thank you to all of my friends and family that helped me with the party!!!! I am 33 weeks pregnant and could not have done it without you guys!!!!:))))) Love you!

We had a Cars 2 party and Caden picked out this cake. I had the kids decorate wooded cars I got from Michael's. They colored them with markers, crayons and stickers. (Sorry no pictures)

Mommy and Daddy, and Hannah (mainly Daddy, lol) got Caden a bow and arrow.

Nonna and Paw Paw got him Buck Denver askes...What's in the Bible? DVD. We already have the Christmas one, which we Love. He is laughing because he calls it the "funny movie!"

Caden's friends!:)))

Christmas Decorating 2011

2011-12-08T13:53:00.000-06:00

The kids got to decorate the Christmas Tree all by themselves this year. I am 33 weeks pregnant and just can't stand that long. So I sat and watched and it sure was cute to see these little guys working hard!

Don't you love how all the decorations are all at the bottom of the tree???

Daddy helping Hannah move some of the ornaments up higher.

We also started a tradition with my Mom, my sister and her 2 kids to decorate Christmas cookies for the kids friends. We all had a great time decorating and making a huge mess!

Best cousins!!!

Caden's First Deer Hunting Trip

2011-12-08T13:45:00.000-06:00

Daddy and Paw-Paw Virgadamo took Caden deer hunting for the first time. There were no real guns or any deer but Caden had the best time of his life. It is amazing to see a little boy's doing what little boys were born to do! Play outside and just be boys!

Thanksgiving Lesson 2011

2011-11-16T15:44:00.000-06:00

Mayflower craft from Kidssoup.

Turkey hand craft I made up myself.

Pilgrim and Indian hats.

P is for Pilgrim dot paint. I got from 2 Teaching Mommies.

This Pilgrim and Indian sort was also from 2 Teaching Mommies.

They are making praying mats from Kids Sunday School Place.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-16T08:07:00.000-06:00

Daddy carving

They are ready for Trick-or-Treating with there cousin!

Cleaning out the pumpkin

Daddy carved such a great pumpkin. We did the pumpkin prayer when we carved it!

The kids with their pumpkin and pumpkin prayer!

Letter P/Pumpkins

2011-10-30T11:39:00.000-05:00

Hannah had to describe a pumpkin and draw it. I got this from Day by Day Kindergarten Plans.

Caden's A beka K5 Math lesson.

Caden decorated a pumpkin.

Caden's You Can Read.

Hannah doing a Halloween puzzle from Itsy Bitsy Learners.

Hannah matching upper case and lower case letter p from Letter of the Week.

Measuring pumpkin vines.

Making a pumpkin pie.

Tinker Toys

Hannah fixing her hair!

Caden picking his pumpkin with our Homeschool group.

Hannah picking hers.

Love these pictures!!!!

Love it!

Hannah tracing the number 6.

Caden working on the ig family from Ready2Read.

Ready2Read

Hannah's number buddy from DLTK

Hannah's Oval buddy from DLTK.

Caden and Hannah's pumpkins they painted and decorated.

Caden and Hannah October 2011 Pictures

2011-10-19T14:17:00.000-05:00

All About Me

2011-10-11T12:17:00.000-05:00

Theme: All About Me

Caden is currently 4 years and 9 months old

Hannah is currently 3 years and 4 months old

I had Caden pick a word and then find the letters in the pasta and beans. Then he put them in his leapfrog to see if he was right. We are on unit 2 You Can Read.

Hannah and Caden both did this. They had to find and match the letters to their name.

The kids matched the colored magnets on the happy and sad faces from Making Learning Fun.

Hannah trying to make a sad face.

You can't quit see it but we made a hair graph.

Hannah's Sing, Spell Read and Write work.

All About Me printable from Itsy Bitsy Learners. Hannah and Caden both put their cute little finger prints on the magnify glass.

Caden tracing his You Can Read Unit 2 worksheet.

Putting his puzzles together from You Can Read Unit 2.

We did a journal entry today. We got the idea from Day-by-Day Kindergarten plans. It was... My favorite thing to do is...
Hannah said hers is to play dress up with her dolls and her picture is her happily playing with her dolls.

Caden said his was to play wrestle (which is actually tickling) with his daddy. His picture is of him and his daddy.
I love these journal entries they are sooooo adorable.

Caden doing is Abeka Letters and Sounds K.

Hannah doing Sing, Spell, Read and Write Preschool.

We measured Caden with blocks.

Then crayons.

Then with our Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See cards.

Then paper. He had fun with measuring himself. Hannah did not want to participate. I got the idea from All About Me Preschool Pack from Itsy Bitsy Learners.

Hannah decorating a birthday cake. I wrote how old she is and she drew her candlesticks. I got this from the All About Me Preschool Pack also.

Caden did the same thing.

Caden didn't follow the directions but he sure did draw a pretty flower.

We were doing Caden's Abeka Number Skills math and at one point he had to write a number 3. He kept practicing over and over again. Of course the 3s that look correct are mine and the other ones he tried and tried. Soooo cute!

Yeah!!! He did it!

Here is Caden's craft of himself. Is this just soooo cute!!!!

Here is Hannah's. She asked me to make her a shirt, shoes, and skirt and those are the colors she asked for. Sooooo adorable!

My 31st Birthday and Nonnie's House

2011-10-07T10:58:00.002-05:00

Aaron caught a non-poisonous snake in the pond. The kids got to have their first visiual experience of a snake dissection. Paw-Paw did it and there was a fish inside.

Hannah collecting rocks in her jeep. She was so proud.

Riding on Red Bird.

Mee-Maw and the kids made me a cake. The kids also made me some birthday cards, it was so such a special birthday.

Reveal Party for Baby #3 2011

2011-09-24T10:16:00.001-05:00

Since this is my last baby and we are all very excited about it. We decided to have a Reveal Party with family and friends.

This is how it all went down. Wednesday, September 14th I went to the Dr. for my 20 1/2 week ultrasound. Aaron was not able to come because he was out of town so my Mother-in-law came. We got to see baby and wondered the whole time if it was a boy or girl.

As soon as I saw the ultrasound Dr. I told her I did not want to know the gender but I had 2 envelopes ready for her to circle boy or girl. I told her do not show me and I asked her if she could put the picture of the baby gender in one envelope and in the other envelope just circle boy or girl because that envelope will go to the cake lady.

So on Saturday, September 17th we had the Reveal Party. My Dad cooked spaghetti, my grandma brought the bread, and my Aunt brought the salad and green beans. I also had two different colored punches, pink and blue. The theme was little birdies. I made each of the kids shirts that said, "A little birdie told me it was...On Caden's it said boy and on Hannah's it said girl. I also had everyone grab a name tag. If they thought it was a girl they would grab a pink one and if they thought it was a boy they would grab a blue one. Then I asked them to put a suggested name on the name tag they chose. That would help us with trying to find a name.

We all ate dinner and then it was time for the cake cutting!!!!! The kids had a cake of their own with their names on them. On the count of 3 Aaron cut the cake. Caden yelled out what it was first (I guess he had the best eye on the cake). Inside of the cake was all BLUE!!!!! It's a BOY!!!!!

Here's the Little Birdie Cake. Caden's cake was on the left and Hannah's on the right. Now that I am looking at the cake after we found out they sure did put a lot of blue on the cake. But we had no idea until we cut the cake.

Look how excited they are to find out what their little baby will be!

In this picture I was like, "wait, I am not ready yet"!

I am still stalling!

Still stalling! LOL

Caden's ready!

Here we go!!!!

Oh, I can't wait!!!!

I am soooo surprised....I thought it was going to be a girl. That is why I was wearing pink and Aaron was wearing blue. I was sooooo excited and surprised!!!!!!!! Wayyyyyy beyond funnnnnn to find out this way!

Look at poor Hannah! What is she thinking???? Another boy???

Na, she just wanted to see what was in her cake.

So I helped her cut her cake and we saw there was blue inside hers too and she felt much better! Whewww!

If you are finding out the sex of your baby I defiantly recommend sharing this moment with your family and friends. Again, we did not know the gender until we cut the cake. It was defiantly more exciting to find out along with family and friends.

Here is Baby#3s profile! Sooo cute!!!

The diaper cake!

Here is a picture of Hannah's shirt. I do not have a picture of Caden's. It is the same but blue and says, boy at the bottom.

Tot School and Raising Rock Star Preschool- Letter M/Small Mammals

2011-08-09T13:21:00.000-05:00

Hannah is currently 3 years and 2 months old

Caden is currently 4 years and 7 months old

Hannah tracing.

Caden color by number.

Hannah dot painting her mouse and using heart stickers.

Hannah traced the letter M.

Hannah's M is on the left and Caden's M is on the right. I had them make a letter M with the foam pieces I gave to them. Caden did it by himself and Hannah needed help. We also put money under a piece of paper and colored over it with a crayon and then they cut and glued their money on their M paper.

Hannah cut and glued her letter M pictures on her letter m.

Hannah did the letter M match.

I had them both use tissue paper to decorate our verse of the week from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Finished Product. Hannah's on left Caden's on right.

Carissa from 1+1+1=1 posted on her post from You Can Read posts that she used a worksheet from The Moffatt Girls blog and I went to check it out and she had this awesome caterpillar to review sight words. Caden does great with it, especially when he gets a treat depending on how many he gets right. Check out her sight.

Hannah wanted to get a treat also so I had her review her colors.

Sorting M and M's from Letter of the Week.

Color by sight word from The Moffatt Girls.

Hannah dot painted the letter M from Letter of the Week.

Raising Rock Stars Preschool- Letter N/Bugs

2011-08-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

Caden is currently 4 years and 7 months old

Our week has been lots of fun. Sorry I have not been catching a lot of our Homeschooling lately. We have still been schooling but just not posting.

Letter of the Week: N

Theme: Bugs
You Can Read: Unit 1

Caden's new school desk his Paw-Paw bought him! He absolutely loves it, especially the opening under the desk.

Unit 1 You Can Read

Bugs! Wind up bugs. These were a big hit all week.

Bug Sensory Bin. Check out more here from 1+1+1=1.

Sun catcher bugs.

Bee Craft.

Bug stamping.

Bug capsules.

Bird house painting.

Completed bird house.

Nest craft from Oriental Trading.

Unit 1 You Can Read puzzle.

We can not forget the best picture of all. Daddy playing monsters with the kids. The kids were hiding and Daddy was trying to find them to "eat" them and I caught him in action. Soooooo funny!!!!:))))

Tot School- Letter N/Bugs

2011-08-01T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hannah is currently 37 1/2 months old

Our week has been lots of fun. Sorry I have not been catching a lot of our Homeschooling lately. We have still been schooling but just not posting.

I have changed things up a bit, due to Hannah's interest. We are using 1+1+1=1's themes from Tot School. I am also using some Tot School print outs, Letters of the Week and we still use Itty Bitty Book Worm.

Letter of the Week: N
Theme: Bugs

Bug Sensory Bin
(more sensory bin ideas go here)

Matching bugs

Catching bugs. We got the net and tongs at Michael's.

Oh, and she loved these wind up bugs we also got at Michael's. Or at Amazon.

Filling up her bug container with marbles. We talked about small and large.

Letter N activities from Tot School Printables.

Bug sun catcher.

Bee craft

I do not remember what these are called...maybe bugs in a capsule. I got it from the dollar store. You put them in water and wait, wait, and wait and then a bug will come out of the capsule.

Painting a bird house.

Completed bird house.

Bird nest craft. We got this from Oriental Trading.

Letter N match from Confessions of a Homeschooler Letter of the Week.

Special News!

2011-07-27T21:54:00.000-05:00

Baby #3 on the way!:))

I'm 13 1/2 weeks

Due January 27, 2012

Love These Guys!

2011-07-27T21:48:00.000-05:00

Oh, why do they get big so fast!

Camping at Jellystone

2011-07-16T10:22:00.002-05:00

Hannah's 3rd Birthday

2011-06-10T07:42:00.000-05:00

We went to the Cheesecake Factory for Hannah's 3rd Birthday.

I love this picture of my boys!

Hannah's special birthday cheesecake.

Then we went to the mall and rode the merry-go-round.

This was their first time to ride on the horses instead of the benches. They are growing up so fast.

Caden said he wanted to take a picture with the squirrel! Silly boy!

Aaron said he did all these poses on his own and just said "Daddy, take a picture!"

Caden got flowers for Hannah's birthday.

Here is our fun, fun, slide we rented for Hannah's party. Caden loved it more than Hannah.

When everyone left the party she decided to finally slide on it.

Caden giving the slide a hug because he loved it so much!

Hannah's castle cake at her request.

Hannah had been waiting for this moment for at least 3 months....

and then everyone sang Happy Birthday and she got shy!

Then she had cake and was much better....

then opened presents and was like a pro. Brother could not resist to helping, but he was a really good helper!:)))

This was Hannah's favorite gift from Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw.

We Love you Hannah!

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Letter Y- Zoo Theme

2011-05-18T07:04:00.001-05:00

Hannah is currently 2 years and 11 months old

Caden is currently 4 years and 5 months old

We talked about the number 9 and I gave them each the number 9 magnet.

Then they laced them with animal beads.

I had Hannah trace the letter Y that I wrote.

I had Caden write the word you.

I had Hannah match it with magnet letters.

We painted a jaguar from KidsSoup.

We did our puzzle from You Can Read. Then I had Caden write the words on the dry erase easel.

Then I wrote sentences with his sight words in them. I had him hide while I wrote the sentences. I had him return and then he would read and then color the picture I drew.

Zoo animal match sensory bend.

Transferring bugs.

Painting a Zebra from KidsSoup.

Taping his verse from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Tracing the letter Y from Raising Rock Starts Preschool.

Craft from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Letter X

2011-05-01T16:40:00.002-05:00

We have really enjoyed all the wonderful resources from a handful of creative mommy blogs this past week. I can not thank these moms enough for sharing all of their creative ideas. See the resources below.

I have also changed the kids schedule because for the past month the kids have enjoyed circle time together but when we do our workboxes they either get distracted or not interested. So I finally realized each one of them wanted their own one on one time. So here is our new schedule:

Hannah is currently 35 months old

and is participating in some Raising Rock Stars Preschool, TotSchool and Tot Trays.

Caden is currently 4 years and 4 months old and is participating in Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Letter X from ABC Twiggles

Xylophone color match from Letter of the Week.

Transferring Magic Nuudles with tongs into an egg holder.

Using her imagination.

She said she made the number 7 after brother said it looked like a 7.

Pouring beans.

We are really working on putting things back on the shelf.

Working on the letter X from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

We just started using Preschool Packs. Wow! You Moms are so talented. Hannah is counting the farm scene and placing a clothespin on the correct number. I got this one from Musings of Me.
Check out other Preschool Packs from 1+1+1=1, Homschool Creations, Lawteedah, 2 Teaching Mommies.

Our theme this week was Farm Life. So I pulled out our Fisher Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm she got for birthday last year.

Writing the letter X from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Our Bible theme for the week was Baby Moses from Danelle's Place.

Craft from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Letter X dot paint from Letter of the Week.

Moses color match from Christian Preschool Printables.

Hannah and Caden both loved painting this wooden farm scene I got at Micheal's Craft store.

Our letter X craft.

Our sight word of the week from Raising Rock Stars Preschool was little and Caden decided he wanted to write the word.

His computer time was Starfall.

Taping his bible verse from Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

Letter X book from ABC Twiggles.

Farm Preschool Pack from Musing of Me.

Baby Moses craft from Danelle's Place.

Caden was doing his craft from Raising Rock Stars Preschool. He had to cut out shapes and he said he could not cut out the circle. I said just try and lets see what happens, and then he gave me this face. lol

Then he tried.

Success!::))))

Farm game, which he loved. It was from Musing of Me's Preschool Pack.

This is also from the Preschool Pack and Caden colored, cut and glued the farm on the correct word.

Painting his wooden farm craft I got from Micheal's.

Lacing beads. This was one of Hannah's tot trays, which he also loves.

We had such a great week. We have had a lot of great weeks with Raising Rock Stars Preschool but I just have not taken pictures. I can not say enough about the fun, fun, fun preschool packs and thank you again to all the mom's that have created them and have shared all of their ideas.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Our Family

Easter 2011

Cousins

Great Grandparents (that is not all of their grandchildren)

This is my Mom's side of the family. We are even missing some.

Caden's gift from the Easter Bunny

Caden made a sign on our front door for the Easter Bunny. When Caden woke up the morning of Easter he found that the Easter Bunny had drew a picture of himself and signed his name.

Caden knows how to swing himself!:)))

Pretty Girl!

Hannah loved pushing her cousin.

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Letter U and W

2011-04-26T13:44:00.001-05:00

Gluing pom-poms on verse.

Tracing and cutting out U vocabulary.

W book. I had Caden highlight his sight word with self-stick markers.

You Can Read color page.

I am not doing You Can Read with Hannah, she saw Caden doing it and wanted to join in so I let her.

We are loving Raising Rock Stars. Both kids really enjoy the curriculum. Carisa at 1+1+1=1 has done a wonderful job creating these lessons. We have done letters M-U but have not posted all of them. We are just enjoying the lessons. I have also started You Can Read with Caden. We are going pretty slow with it though.

For both kids I will complete Raising Rock Stars and I know I will do it again with Hannah. Caden will be moving on soon. I hope to get him started with a Kindergarten curriculum in the Fall or when he turns 5 in Dec. He is ready. I do not think Hannah will be ready as soon as Caden will but each child is very different. I am going to continue You Can Read from 1+1+1=1 with Caden. We are having such a wonderful time homeschooling. It is so neat to see each child grow and learn, best of all we get to do it together.!

Easter Egg Hunts 2011

2011-04-21T13:20:00.001-05:00

This year we did 2 Easter Egg Hunts. One at my sisters work and the other with our Joy School Friends. The one at my sister's work was CRAZY! My son got pushed over by a parent. Why were the parents hunting Easter Eggs???? Joy School Easter Egg Hunt was wonderful. We hid the eggs and the kids had a great time finding them.

Easter Egg Hunt with cousin (at my sister's work).

Caden's best friend, Brigham. Caden is giving some of his eggs to Brigham.

Our Joy School Friends.:)))

Fun Pictures

2011-04-05T13:27:00.001-05:00

We still have been doing school but I just wanted to share some cute pictures instead.

Our New House

2011-03-31T06:08:00.000-05:00

Well here is our new house. (I guess I could have closed the garage lol)

Here is the school room. I have not painted it yet, but we love, love, love it. In the old house the playroom and school room were in the same room.

Another view of the school room.

Circle time area.

This is the view of the playroom.

Here is another view.

We absolutely are so blessed to have a bigger home. We have been enjoying every bit of it. The kids love it too.

This is the awesome lake and view behind our house.

Aaron and the kids caught a big bass. Aaron and the kids were so excited.

Raindrop Experiment

2011-03-21T16:43:00.000-05:00

I put flour in a paper plate and then we collected rain drops.

Then the kids plucked them out with tweezers.

Then they played in the flour.....

This is what Caden looked like after!!!1

Then Hannah!!!

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Letter P

2011-03-21T16:37:00.002-05:00

Singing Praise Be the Lord Song- They have been so proud of themselves that they can hop on one foot.

Practice writing the letter P

Craft

Sorting music notes from craft.

Letter P work. Check out 1+1+1=1 for more.

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Letter Nn

2011-03-11T15:49:00.001-06:00

Caden is currently 4 years and 2 months

Hannah is currently 2 years and 9 months

Letter Nn- Check out 1+1+1=1 for complete curriculum.

Vocabulary letter N

Nest craft from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

We made windstocks out of gallon plastic bags. I took the kids outside to test them, and had the kids talk about which way the wind was blowing. I also asked how hard it was blowing. I got the idea from The Mailbox Science.

N poking with a push pin.

Treasure chest craft.

Letter N board.

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Letter Mm

2011-03-07T10:15:00.001-06:00

Raising Rock Stars Letter Mm

Caden is currently 4 years and 2 1/2 months

Hannah is 2 years and 9 months

Here is our letter M board from the awesome 1+1+1+1 website.

This is the work area and were I post their work at so they can see it.

Hannah's bible verse.

Caden's bible verse.

Letter M and M building patterns from Confessions of a Homeschooler Letter of the Week.

Painting their bible verse.

Caden found this book, My Car with our site word of the week in it.

Our Letter M book of the week was If You Give a Moose a Muffin.

M and M Puzzle from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Letter M tracing.

Game of the week was Cootie.

March Sensory Bin.

Hannah making a sun out of Tinker Toys

The kids love playing with perfection

We are finally getting settled in our new house. Once we finish painting I will post pictures. This week was our first consistent week of school with great curriculum and lessons the kids really enjoyed. Thanks 1+1+1=1 and Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Random Pictures

2011-02-23T19:09:00.000-06:00

Look at all that hair!

Cheese!

He told me to take a picture of him. He is so silly.

Playing with noodles.

Lacing

We have been painting at the new house and Caden got a hold of the blue tape.

Look what he built. Caden loves playing with wood, a hammer and nail. He said he made this garage for his cars.

Valentine Suprises

2011-02-23T15:22:00.000-06:00

For Valentine's Day 2011 Aaron and I gave the kids a little bear, heart candy and a red spatula (they love cooking with me). They were so excited that it was a "Special Day." It is so special when it is the little things that make them happy.

It's Been Awhile

2011-02-20T22:34:00.000-06:00

It has been quit awhile since I have posted, here is what has been going on:

1. Put house on the market.
2. In and out of the house for showings.
3. In the process of building a new home.
4. Thanksgiving.
5. Sold old home.
6. Caden's Birthday
7. Moved out of old home.
8. Moved in with in-laws.
9. Christmas
10. Moved into new house.

We have been so busy. We managed to still do school here and there but did not take any pictures. I would like to start blogging again, since we are finally settled in. Pictures of the new playroom and schoolroom will be posted soon. In the mean time here are some pictures of Caden being silly.

Oh, ya along with all that craziness Hannah had a horrible rash (eczema) all over her body. So we had some test done with our primary physician and she was allergic to 6 things. So I did the gluten free diet and took out everything she was allergic to and still here body was covered with the eczema. So I called my Holistic Dr. and he told me she is not allergic to anything, her body may have a low immune system and it is trying to fight off some kind of bacteria or whatever it may be. So we are using his wholefood supplements and she is doing great and is healing nicely and eating regular food. Crazy!

I will add some of Hannah tomorrow.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T23:33:00.000-05:00

More pumpkin decorating. They are very focused.

We went to a Harvest Festival with our Cousin Zoe and our new friend Logan.

Paw-paw in the background. Caden being silly:)))

Little Dorthy saying "Cheese". She was very shy at the festival.

Look at this "Little Slugger"!

Again!:)

He loved the festival!:)))

Trick or Treating in the neighborhood.

Caden was on a mission to get candy and go to as many houses as he could. We really only went to about 6-8 houses and then he surprisingly said, "Mommy, I think that is enough now. Let's go home and watch cartoons and go to bed." I looked at him without hesitation and said, "Of course". Then I figured out he wanted to go home so he could EAT his candy. Silly boy!:)))

The Big Orange Splot!

2010-11-01T12:41:00.000-05:00

I got this book, "The Big Orange Splot" at the library because we were learning about the color orange. Caden came to me the next day and asked me if we can hang a hamick in our backyard like in the book. So Caden showed Daddy what he was talking about in the book and this is what Daddy made for the kids.:)

Caden was so excited about his hamick.

I LOVE this picture!

Caden and our dog Kelso.

Tot School-Transporation

2010-11-01T07:57:00.000-05:00

Hannah is currently 27 1/2 months old.

Lessons for the Week:Transportation: Boats, Airplanes, and Trains
Color: Purple
Letter: R and S
Shape: Triangle and Square
Number: 4
Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den

We started off our week at the fire station.

Hannah was not too excited about the fire truck.

R video you tube video.

Hannah pouting because I did not make two letter r playdough mats Homeschool Creations.

I made this myself with a new program I got called Swift Publisher.

Yeah! Hannah cutting straight and continuously for the first time!

Number puzzle

Motor Works from Discovery Toys.

Coloring wooden lions from Micheal's clearance section for Daniel and the Lion's Den.

Watching the ABC song from a you tube video.

Daniel and the Lion's Den stickers

Rhyming puzzle

Hannah dancing with her shaker.

Matching airplane

Color s for snowman matching.

Preschool-Transportation Cont.

2010-10-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

Caden is currently 46 1/2 months old


We started off the week at the fire station. Our theme has been transportation and it went right along with fire prevention month (October)

Lessons for the Week:
Transportation: Boats, Airplanes, and Trains
Color: Purple
Letter: R and S
Shape: Triangle and Square
Number: 4
Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den

Here we are on the computer watching a letter R video from you tube.

Letter R playdough mat from Homeschool Creations.

I am so proud of myself, I created this letter clip myself on my new Swift Publisher program.:)

We played with or Motor Works toys from Discovery Toys.

I got these wooden lions to color at Michael's Clearance rack.

Listening to an alphabet song on you tube.

We learned that Airplanes are a form of transportation so we played with our airport set.

More airplane fun.

Daniel and the Lion's Den stickers.

Rhyming puzzle

Learning that trains are another form of transportation.

Finding purple things in the room.

Letter S playdough mat.

S for snowman color match from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Upper case and lower case letter S match from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Pumpkin Decorating

2010-10-27T11:52:00.000-05:00

Last week we decorated small pumpkins. I got the awesome idea from Elle Belle's Bows website. She decorated her own pumpkins so pretty. So I let the kids have a try, and they loved it. You can tell by their pure concentration.

Go by her site and check out what a wonderful job she did decorating her pumpkins.

Tot School

2010-10-25T08:28:00.000-05:00

Hannah is currently 27 1/2 months.

For this week Caden's curriculum lesson is on, Hannah is incorporated in the theme on her level:

Transportation
Letter P and Q
Color purple and orange
Number recognition 1-3
Daniel and the Lion's Den

So I still kept the theme of Caden's lessons but tone down Hannah's.

I showed Hannah our letter of the Week and then had her push the Alphabet song and the letter Q to see what sound it makes.

We counted the dots on the choo choo train and then put that amount of marshmallows above the smoke stack.

Then she wanted to put the marshmallows on the dots.

I read the story Daniel and the Lion's Den from our book 100 Bible Stories and 100 Bible Songs.

Then I printed out this lion and had her put pasta noodles around the lions face for his mane. I got this from Danielle's Place.

Then I made her a pumpkin with 3 triangles on it and had her glue them in the correct spot.

Then she glued the pattern on the pattern. So basically she did matching. I got this from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Putting together a Melissa and Doug Construction Puzzle.

Peg Play Activity Set we talked about colors and counting.

Stacking blocks counting and colors.

She still enjoyed putting buttons into the can and naming the colors.

Gluing orange buttons on the letter p.

Dot paint letter Q with the color purple.

Gluing pom poms on the letter Q.

This is our bulletin board I made so the kids can keep up with what we are doing during the week.

Transportation-Preschool

2010-10-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

Caden is currently 46 months old

Transportation
Letter P and Q
Color purple and orange
Number recognition 1-3
Daniel and the Lion's Den

Buses and other Transportation:
We were talking about buses so I pulled our our Mini Motor Counters. I asked a few questions:

I pulled out the car and the bus and asked, "Which vehicle holds more people?"
Then pulled out the boat and train and asked, "Which one drives on water?"
Then pulled out the helicopter and airplane and asked, "Which one holds more people?"

Listening: We pretended we were on a bus and circled around the bus and when the music stopped (The Wheels on the bus) we had to find a seat on the bus.

Prereading: I randomly put the letters from A-P out on the floor and I had Caden put them in alphabetical order.

He decided to use something other than his hands.

Hannah was using her feet.

Yeah, he did it with more help towards the end...he was getting tired of this game.

Math number recognition: I had him count the number of dots on the train and put the correct number of marshmallows.

Not sure why he held up five fingers.

Bible Lesson: I read the story Daniel and the Lion's Den and had them color a lion and glue pasta noodles around his head for his mane.

On our shelf I added some transportation puzzles. I put out the Melissa and Doug contruction puzzle and a Fall Puzzle.

Caden woke up from his nap and saw me and Hannah doing her Mommy School and wanted to join in on reviewing the letter P with dot paint.

Here is the board I have up each week. I thought I have talked about it before but could not find it. I took it down for a while because of the house being on the market but decided I would put it back up.

Beach outting Oct. 2010

2010-10-18T13:03:00.000-05:00

Me, random picture.

Daddy and the kids.

Running away from the waves.

So precious!

So hilarious to watch her run.:))

Caden and Daddy made a deep hole to sit in.

Digging some more.

It has been so beautiful for the past 2 weeks and we realized we hadn't been to the beach in a while which we go fairly often. So last weekend we went and of course the kids had a blast.

Hannah's Mommy School

2010-10-17T15:11:00.001-05:00

Hannah is currently 28 1/2 months old

Color matching from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Hannah's workbox. I do not have numbers on them yet. We are learning to get one thing out at a time and put them back when done.

Putting buttons in a can with a slit. I had her tell me what each color was as she put it in the can. We also practiced a little counting too.

Letter P. I got this print-out from Boggles World. I had Hannah put stickers on the letter P. Then I placed 3 letters in front of her and had her pick out which one was the letter P.

Then I printed out a fish worksheet from I don't remember where. Then I had her put the numbers 1, 2, 3 in order.

Then she played with them on the dry erase board.

Ok, this is the second time I am writing this post it got erased!:( I will be a little more brief this time. I have been slacking with Hannah's Mommy School because we are trying to sell our house, build a new one, and keep our house clean for potential buyers. I finally have some time to gather my thoughts and plan for her schooling.

For Caden's curriculum I am using Bob Jones Footsteps for Fours and really enjoying it. Hannah has just been joining us but now it is getting a little to intense for her and she is just getting herself into unnecessary trouble because she is not interested.

So I gave her a workbox kind of like Caden's but with a little less boxes. She has 4 boxes and Caden has 10. Here is the plan for Hannah. She will continue to be on the same subject matter Caden is on, but I will be using Confessons of a Homeschooler, Tot School (Tot-Trays), and The Itty-Bitty Bookworm ideas.

Here is what our lesson was for today:

Letter P
Counting 1-3
Color orange
Fine Motor skills

Zoo Boo

2010-10-17T12:41:00.000-05:00

Before we left for the Zoo Boo (Trick or Treat at the Zoo) I had the kids take some pictures. Boy were they excited they would not stop making silly faces.:)

At the Zoo Boo the kids got to pick out a pumpkin and decorate it with a marker.:)

We also took some pictures. Normal "cheese" picture.

Then of course we had to make a "silly" face. :)))

Hannah with her Joy School friend at the Zoo Boo.

Bird Feeders

2010-10-14T17:26:00.000-05:00

The kids made bird feeders at our co-op preschool today. I had them take pictures with them and we hung them in our tree in the front yard.

Tea Party

2010-10-14T17:19:00.000-05:00

Hannah woke up from her nap and went straight into the playroom/schoolroom. Usually she comes to me and wants me to hold her for a little bit. So I did not bother her. I came into the room about 5 minutes later and she had all her little animals and her baby sitting at the table and she was feeding them. It was so adorable.:))) Oh, how cute are little girls!

What We've Been Up To...

2010-09-21T14:05:00.000-05:00

I have not posted in a while but we have been quite busy.

We are in the process of putting or house on the market and building a new home.
We started a co-op with 3 other mommies for preschool. Each mom teaches 2 weeks in a row on Tues. and Thurs. So far we are on our 3rd week and absolutely love it. Since I am going to homeschool I would love to have this same set up with 3-4 other mommies and rotate when Caden starts Kindergarten. It is so great because you get a little bit of a break and your child also learns to listen to other adults and not just me. I know they have homeschool groups for this very reason but I like it a lot because it is smaller and not so overwhelming to try and figure out were to get plugged in at.
My husband got a new job position so he is quit busy with a new work load.

Even though we are busy we are still homeschooling separate from our co-op, I just have had time to take pictures and post them. Below are a few of what we have done this week so far.

Here is our co-op friends. We were learning about our bodies and how our feet can paint too.

We also made gingerbread cookies with our co-op friends. We used another part of our body (hands) to make gingerbread men.

For Mommy School we are reading Cat's Colors.

This activity came from The Itty-Bitty Bookworm. It is called Fruit Loop Sand.

We sorted fruit loops and placed them in six separate zip lock bags.
Crushed each bag until they were powdery.
Poured each color into a bowl.
Panted a white piece of paper with glue.
Sprinkled the colors on the picture.

Our Stations

Hannah chose to play with the Fisher-Price Trio Crazy Creatures. Look at our dog! lol

Caden has been into making all kinds of silly faces in the pictures, just so he can see himself in the camera. He was being silly at this station too. It was supposed to dot paint the uppercase and lowercase letter L. I got this printout from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

This is Letter Hunt, also from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

He is showing me what he did, and how he messed up on the middle box.

This is the Ladybug counting puzzle from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Ladybug shapes from Confessios of a Homeschooler.

Being silly.

Putting up stations!!

Centers for the Week

2010-08-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

Since we started school I have been placing stations (centers) whatever you want to call them around various places around the house. I do not have a specific time I change them. They are usually changed when they have lost interest or when I have the second to change them out.

One of our stations was Four Seasons floor puzzle. It was so cute, both of the kids worked together to put the puzzle together.

This is a photo album I made of different family members for them to recognize.

Our color is blue, so I placed blue beads to lace on a rod.

Blue stickers.

This was a station Hannah made up herself!!:) When my husband goes through the mail he normally leaves the pile of junk mail on the counter. Somehow it never makes it to the trash can. This time he left the junk mail pile on the floor and Hannah really enjoyed it! Thank you Daddy!

We did this station outside. I used shaving cream and we made squares. Caden also made a C for his name.

I thought Hannah would like this, because she loves to make a mess. As soon as I took this picture she was done.

Last we made cupcakes! It was no one's birthday, I just put a candle in the cupcake so they could blow it out. They saw the candle on the front of the package and they said they wanted to blow one out.

Donuts:))))

2010-08-03T14:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we visited Daddy at work for lunch. Aaron walked us around his office showing the kids off and when we went past the kitchen the kids spotted donuts. We told them we they could not have any because we were going to eat lunch.

So a week past and Caden was mad at me because we were going to a friends house. The friend was a little girl. Caden has no boy friends, all my friends have little girls. So Caden said "I do not want to go to her house, I want to go to work with Daddy and eat donuts because he is a boy!" So the next day Daddy brought Caden home a donut, and boy was he happy!!!!

Me Posters

2010-08-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

I traced the kids and then they colored themselves. See the wet spot on Hannah's picture? We are in potty training mode and she really did potty on herself (poster), funny huh!

Then I had Caden measure himself.

Then I hung them on the wall.

Color Red and Counting 1-5

2010-08-03T13:49:00.001-05:00

I put red food coloring in a glass of water and the kids watched the clear water turn red.

I had them line up and count red Vehicle Counters.

Red play-doh.

I made a red star and numbered the points from 1-5. Next I numbered clothes pins and they had to match the number clothes pin with the correct number on the point of the star.

Lace 5 red beads on a red pipe cleaner.

5 red beads on a rod.

Second Day of Mommy School

2010-07-28T18:26:00.001-05:00

Bible- We continued Jonah and the Big Fish. I had the kids paint a whale with watercolors.

Physical Education- We did some physical activity. I got these from Discovery Toys they are called Flip Flop Faces Emotions in Motion. We practiced color matching and balance.

Math- Then we talked about top, middle, and bottom. We talked about traffic lights and what color goes on top, middle and bottom of the traffic light. We also discussed what each color means. Then we made a traffic light snack. I got a graham cracker, spread white icing on it and used red, yellow, and green m &m's.