Faaaancy

Last night the kids begged to eat at Pizza Hut with daddy. Showing that I can be a softie, I succumbed and out we went. Little S looked super cute sitting in a restaurant high chair like a big girl, but I digress. While we were making family chit-chat, A6 came up with a great idea. She said, "When we eat at fancy restaurants like this......"

Making Salamander Habitats

After painting the clay salamanders, the kids made natural habitats for them. They gathered grass, leaves, sticks, moss, and rocks just like in the book. We conveniently forgot to collect bugs, birds, and frogs. It was a fun activity, but what do I do with the shoeboxes now?

Making Salamanders

As part of our Salamander Room unit, we used homemade clay to make salamanders. The kids loved painting them - even E2 got in on the action. I'm always amazed at how much mess 5-10 minutes of painting makes. Paint is definitely a Friday afternoon activity.

Carving Pumpkins

A fun evening courtesy of the Dad!

By the way, if you have small children and pumpkins, you can use washable markers to draw faces, erase, and repeat. The pumpkins are kinda like a blank white board. Much fun!

This Sweet Thing is 6 Months Old!

She loves playing with her siblings and standing up. Actually, I should say that she is obsessed with standing up but is more than willing to be entertained by the siblings.

And, yes, your eyes do not deceive you. She has blond hair and blue eyes. Yikes! Three blondies for us. Who would have guessed?

Doesn't she almost make you want another one?

What would you hear if you were a fly on our wall?

Last night as I'm reading through next week's religion lessons and A6 is memorizing the American Girl catalog: A6: Why are these dolls so expensive? Mom: I don't know. (trying to ignore her) A6: I wish they were cheap. Mom: I know. (still trying to ignore her) A6: (silently pondering) Mom: (thinking maybe she'll leave me alone now) A6: I KNOW!!! I'll ask Santa for an American Girl doll. Then we won't have to pay for it! That's a great idea! I can ask him for everything I want. This morning at 5:30 a.m. a cute little blonde boy silently tip-toed into my room, creeped into my bed, leaned over me and whispered into my ear, "Mom, when are we going to make blueberry pies again?" Then, at 6:30 a.m. I turned on the heat for the first time this season, and I set off the fire detectors. Guess the rest of the kids aren't sleeping in after all.

School Days

We've had three great days in a row, and I thought I would post some pics. I learned today that if your child is staring into space in the middle of her math lesson, she's thinking and NOT goofing off. A6 was staring into space for the longest time trying to solve her math problem in her head without any manipulatives. She didn't get it right, but she was very, very close. I can't believe she's so close to adding two four-digit-numbers in her head. Amazing! Here's a cute conversation from today: A6: When did you start sitting in the front of the car when you were a kid? Me: I don't remember how old I was. Things were different then. I never had a car seat. A6: (audible gasp) You didn't? Did you ride in a wagon like Laura and Mary? I must look all of my newly turned 35 years! And, E2 finally has a name for himself! Here's his family list: Daddy = Daddy (pretty original) Mom = Mom (even more original) A6 = Ann J4 = Cho Little S = Baby E2 = I (cute, huh?) We had a great day - Four loads of laundry, three loads of dishes, and three baths for both boys. The boys were out in the mud all day.