Recreations

You know how you can have a great idea in your mind for a LONG time and just never do anything about it???  That's how I have been with regards to my kitchen/dining room.  My kitchen is currently painted yellow and decorated in a blue and white Dutch dishes kind of theme.  I have liked it okay, but unbeknowns to me, my husband didn't really like it.  And since he lives in this house too I thought I should redecorate it.  (Its really just a great excuse to get some new decorations....hehehe, but don't tell him.)

I love little French-Italian Bistros and Cafes.  They are so delightful!  I love the colors-so warm.  I love the feeling. And I also love the food.  I mean, who doesn't like alfredo and lasagna and pizza and french bread and alfredo and chicken cacciatore and alfredo.  Do you get the idea that I like alfredo?  Oh, and I also love the fat little chefs and the black chalkboards. ^-^.  Soooo, I decided that would be the perfect theme with which to redecorate.

HOWEVER,  that can cost a lot of money!!!  We're talking two rooms here.  So I decided to try my hand at some restoration and recreations of things I already had and things I could buy cheaply.  I am having SO much fun doing this I'm afraid my husband is going to ban me from buying any more spray paint for fear that I'm going to spray paint the whole house!  (I promise, honey, I won't touch your computer or your ipod!)

Here are just a couple of things I've done.

I don't have a before picture of this because my camera wouldn't work when I went to take the picture.  I thought the camera was broken.  My husband found that I had put the battery in wrong......yep.  I'm like that.   I would not survive in a world of technology without my husband.

So just imagine this picture as a bright red frame with chalkboard and corkboard on the top and Mickey Mouse decals with three pegs on the bottom.

This is what it looks like now:

 

This is not the best picture.  I couldn't get the right lighting, but you get the idea.  The top picture is just a piece of scrapbook paper.  Altogether this little baby cost me less than $10!  $3 for frame at garage sale, $5 for rub-ons on clearance, $.41 for scrapbook paper.

The bottom decals are rub-on stencils.  The package says "Instant Rub-on Stencils" HA!!  I had to rub each one for half hour before they would come off!!  But it was worth it because I love it.  I especially love the chalkboard.  You can write all sorts of stuff on it: "Cafe de Paris,"  "If you sit on your chair properly you WON'T fall off!" (Why is that so hard?!)

Here is my second project:  This is what they looked like before AND.....

here is what they look like now.

Ahhhhh, I am in love!  All I needed was some paint.  I still have to spray paint the shelf black.  White won't do.   I plan to paint several more plates to put here and there.

I have to give you a secret I learned from someone else.  Do you see the word Cafe on the middle plate?  I did NOT free hand that.  Wall art is very popular right now but very expensive.  You can achieve the same look for FREE!  Print out the words you want in the font you want.  Flip the paper over and scribble over the entire word(s) with pencil.  (This is the back side)  Tape the word wherever you want it and then trace over the words hard with  a pen.  When you lift the paper you will have an outline of the words.  Then you just paint over the outline...simple and very fun!  I'm just dying to try this in more places all over the house.

Stay tuned for more recreations.  As I get more done I'll post them.  Happy Decorating!

Of Dragons and Fair Ladies

Once upon a time there was a fair maiden who was captured by a dragon. A brave knight took on the dragon, slew him and rescued the princess and they all lived happily ever after. The end.


The Princess


The Dragon (Don't be fooled by meek and mild-looking Tigger-he can be very fierce!)



The Knight



A fierce battle ensues


The Dragon is slain



The Princess honors the Knight who saved her life



The victorious conqueror!

Shameless Gushing!!

There are few things more nauseating than a brand-new mother. They all think THEIR baby is the cutest, the smartest, the most cuddly, and on and on and on... You know what I'm talking about. Everyone else is going, "Yea, yea, yea...he looks like all the rest!" Grandparents are the only ones who appreciate this.

So far I have tried to refrain from gushing about my baby and making everyone around me sick. But a Mom can only do what she can do...I mean, give me a break here! So if you have a weak stomach you might want to jump to the next blog because this is going to be shameless!! I had some pictures of my darling baby boy that were simply begging to be posted. So at the risk of being completely annoying...here they are.



Laughing at something ...who knows what? Probably at one of his parents.


Taking a bath



Watching life go by


And lying around some more...


Boy, I wish I could lie around this much!


I know he was trying to quote Shakespeare



"Mommy, I love you!" (I told you this was going to be nauseating.)
Alright, that's all (for now). Is anybody still here...... Hey... where did you all go?

After One Week of Homeschooling...

I have learned:

* Children are smarter than we think.
* Parents are NOT NEARLY as smart as we think.
* School can be loads of fun.
* School is exhausting for the student.
* School is exhausting for the teacher.


This is what Breck looked like Friday afternoon. This is also what yours truly looked like Friday afternoon, although I don't have a picture of it. I've seen pictures of me sleeping... and lets just say that its something I should NOT put up on my blog. You. really. don't. want. to. see. it.!

Thankfully, by the second week we have gotten into "the groove" and are feeling like its a "piece of cake!" I have a baaaad feeling that statement is going to come back and haunt me.

The Find of the Week!

People, it doesn't get any better than this. While Breck was outside playing today he found nestled in our sweet little maple tree a Mourning Dove and her chicks. The nest was barely above my head and the foliage wasn't too thick so we were able to observe her for quite some time. At first I thought she only had one chick with but we soon discovered that she had two. I brought a step stool out and the kids took turns climbing up and watching her. She didn't squawk or try to get us to leave, instead she stayed perfectly motionless. Not even her eye moved.

Just as we were about to leave the little chicks began clambering for something to eat. So she opened her beak and they placed their beaks inside her beak to eat. We're not talking one at a time here...they both wanted it now! As you can imagine, we were delighted to watch them.

This year our nature study is focused on birds so this little lady is going to be Exhibit A. We plan to watch her and her babies closely every day to watch them grow. We'll be reading every book we can get our hands on that talk about the Mourning dove. This is, in my humble opinion, the best way to study Science.

Making Math Meaningful

I HATE math. No, that's not stating it strong enough. I'm afraid you won't get the idea...I loath, despise math. When you mention the word math I feel like there are spikes going under my fingernails. I have ALWAYS hated math. I do not have a mathmatical mind...I like to read, write, play the piano...you get the idea. I really needed daily beatings to get me to do my math when I was in school (although my Mother out of the kindness of her heart did not do so). I practically cried my way through Algebra and I'm not even certain to this day how I passed because I didn't learn a bloomin' thing! That is why when it came to homeschooling, the one subject that gave me cause for fear was....you got it-MATH. How on earth was I going to teach my child Math when I can barely stand the sight of a Math textbook?!

To the rescue (trumpets please...) came my older sister, Rhetta, who is a homeschool Mom. The Math textbook that she showed me forever changed the way I look at math and has become a God-send to me. No longer do I have fear and trepidation about teaching math; no longer am I afraid that my kids will hate it as I have. I actually enjoy teaching it! Imagine that!

Making Math Meaningful by David Quine is the curriculum you NEED to use for your children. If you are using one curriculum for all your subjects, such as Bob Jones or A becka (I'm not sure how to spell that-you can tell that's not what I'm using ;), you need to take the math book and pitch it into the trash. Tear it into little pieces so you won't be tempted to pull it out again and then go to your computer and order Making Math Meaningful!!! You will not be sorry. No, I am not getting paid anything from Cornerstone or David Quine to give this testimonial. (Although some free curriculum would be nice!)

Here are some reasons why this is the best math program out there. First of all, the math concepts are taken veeerrryyy slooowly so that your child has time to actually master the concept before moving on to something else. Secondly, they actually teach you WHY you do what you are doing. Am I the only adult out there that didn't know WHY we carry a number when we are subtracting??? You just do it because that's the way you're supposed to do it! Don't ask anymore questions!!! This book teaches the principles before you ever do any addition, subtraction, etc. facts. Imagine what's its like to actually understand what you're doing!

I'll just give an example: Breck has been learning about adding and subtracting. So the first thing they teach is the difference between things being equal and unequal. "If you have two towers of lego blocks that are different in height are they equal or unequal?" Answer: unequal. "What can you do to make them equal?" Answer: Add more blocks. "What's another way you can make them equal?" Answer: Take some away from the tall tower. Voila! They are learning the principles of addition and subtraction and having fun. What kid doesn't like building towers with lego blocks? This book will have your child adding and subtracting figures before they ever see a problem on a page. Instead of sitting and doing pages of math problems you work on math using blocks, straws, rocks, linking paper clips, etc. It is very hands on.

Another thing I love is that they teach how to do word problems starting in kindergarten, not high-school so that they become completely comfortable with doing them. Most kids are completely baffled when you try to teach them word problems because they were not introduced to them early on. In kindergarten they show that a letter can substitute for an object in doing a math problem...That's algebra!! (I think. ;) My sister's kids were doing pre-algebra in 2nd and 3rd grade and lovin' it. My neice, Charity, is not mathmatically minded. She's like me...she likes to read and write and play the piano, not do math. But she loves it.

These books are fun, clear to understand and very hands on...no long pages of multiplication here. Give it a try...you'll never go back.

Family Reunion 2: The Faces Of My Family

My brother, Ron. He got a terrible case of poison ivy and poison oak from helping my Dad clear some land. He had to wrap his arms to keep the wounds from weeping. He was feeling pretty miserable and bedraggled (bedraggled??? Is that even a word?)


Leland and Robert sharing an ice-cream cone (well, not shaaarring an ice-cream cone... sharing an ice-cream cone)


My brother Richard...notice what his shirt says, "I'm the kid your parents warned you about!" That's the truth!!!


The newlyweds-Richard and Jessie


Keith & Rhetta, Robert & Carrie. (I think Carrie's picking fleas out of Robert's hair)


My youngest sister Rachel


My Mom carrying Braden on our walk


Playing in the water


My Dad


Carrie doing what she does best-photography


Brennan and Jared resting after a game of football. (Notice what Jared's shirt says...*nod,nod*)


Breck and Kendrick- they are 6 months apart in age and very much alike in personality. They get along great together (as long as the other one is doing things EXACTLY right). hehehe


Autumn and Brianna-they are 2 months apart in age and were inseparable. I call them the "kissing cousins."


Cindi and Angel- Randall could not come to the reunion due to his job situation.


Leland playing with Kendrick


Kendrick, the card shark


Rondell got a serious case of poison ivy and poison oak while helping my Dad clear some land. She was pretty miserable, but she has some wicked pictures now!


My dear sister, Ruthie


Ruthie playing with her son, Michael.


Autumn just havin' fun.


Yours Truly and my wonderful husband. (I would have cropped the picture in but then you might actually see how fat I am, and since this is my blog I can do whatever I want!)


Leland spending time with Autumn and Breck


Rondell's boy, Cameron. This kid is so stinkin' cute... I can hardly take it. He was showing me how good he can wink.


He's pretty good at it...better than I could do! (cuter too!)